As Long As We're Together
by Lucy121293
Summary: A/U - Loosely based off canon. When Burt calls Blaine telling him Kurt is in hospital, nothing could prepare Blaine for the reason why. With one word, both Kurts and Blaines lives changed forever.
1. Chapter 1 Part 1

**Authors Note: Hey guys :) if you're reading this - Thanks for having the intention to read my story :D This is my first fanfic and normally I dont write stuff but after reading so many fanfics, I really felt the need to write my own so here it is :) I hope you guys like it and I hope I can prove to you guys and my English Teacher that I didnt get Double A in English Language&Literature for nothing :)**

**Disclaimer - I dont own Glee or any of the Characters/Places. If I did own Glee, I wouldn't be as mean as Ryan Murphy and I'd make them all the new Cullens - frozen at 17 and NEVER allowed to graduate :D]**

**Oh before i forget - The education stuff in the first bit (Blaine being at Uni and Kurt taking a year off) - its not that important tbh, i just needed to think of a way I could keep Kurt in Lima for the purpose of the story (just for a while ;D) and I knew I always wanted Blaine to be a year older so I just had to think of something he could have been doing for the past year :)  
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**Anyways - enjoyy and review please(a) :)**

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><p>Just twenty four hours ago, everything had been perfect. Everything in the world was in order. Blaine Anderson counted himself as the luckiest guy on earth. He had the most perfect boyfriend he could have ever imagined being with. He had been with Kurt Hummel for nearing 18 months now and although it took him a stupid amount of months to realise that his best friend, the boy he spent every minute of every day with, the person right in front of him all that time was really that one special person he'd been looking for so long, since that momentous day in the Dalton Academy common room, their relationship had gone from strength to strength with every sign of affection signalling various "Aww's" and "Woo's" from their friends because even if Blaine hadn't known it, both his and Kurts friends could see a mile off that the two boys were made for each other. Blaine, being a year older had moved out of Ohio just a year ago, choosing to study at Michigan State University for a degree in English with Music. There's no doubt that he was terrified that by moving over 100 miles away, his relationship with Kurt would eventually start to show cracks. Michigan State had been his dream for so long but so had being with Kurt - finding love had been his dream too and no matter how determined he was to make it work, even he knew that sometimes long distance relationships just didn't work. But if anything, it made their relationship stronger.<p>

With every visit, every ounce of love they had for each other was poured into every kiss they shared. Each hug exuded more desperation and passion then the two boys could muster together, pulling each other so close to the other that they could have easily been conjoined. Each look was more longing and loving. Each touch was more tender - Everything was just more. Kurt had just graduated from William McKinley High School and had decided to take a year out from his studies - Choosing to study Fashion design and merchandising was a no brainier - that part was simple. Where to go however, wasn't. New York had been Kurts dream for as long as he could remember, but just like Blaine, finding love had been his dream too. The memories of his first few years of High school, although now a distant memory, were still a painful one to look back on. Although he was surrounded by love and support and most importantly, acceptance from his amazing Dad and recently the addition of an amazing Step mum, brother and incredible friends, sometimes, Kurt had never felt more alone. In the choir room surrounded by all of his friends finding love with each other(Finn and Rachel, Sam and Quinn, Tina and Mike, Even Lauren had Puck!) He wondered if he would ever find that acceptance and love he truly longed and find that one special person we all dream of finding.

_"Excuse me, erm hi, can I ask you a question, I'm new Here"_

_"My names Blaine"_

_"Kurt"._

That day marked the beginning of something special. Kurt had found Blaine and Blaine had found Kurt - they had found what they had both been looking for in each other. So choosing to either chase his dream or follow his heart was a decision not to be made lightly and definitely not one to be rushed. But literally in seconds, with a few simple words, everything had changed and somehow, choosing where to study became such a fairly simple issue compared to the one Kurt was now faced with. The two boys lay entangled in one another on the bed, their tear stained cheeks visible in the bright, white lights around them that refused to dim. The constant beeping noise from the machines continuously ringed in their ears. Blaines arm was protectively wrapped around Kurt, who had nuzzled himself into Blaines chest. Without Blaine having to speak a single word, the protective arm around his boyfriend spoke a thousand words; "I'll be here to protect you. I wont let anything happen to you. As long as we're together, we'll fight this. We can get through this - we WILL get through this". The younger boy had been sleeping for a few hours now and as much as Blaine wanted to sleep too, his eyes and body failed to agree with him. But then again, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep despite how much he wanted to. But just for a few hours, he wanted to forget everything about this day - the day both of their lives changed.

When he looked back, the signs had been deciding to make appearances in Kurts daily life for a while now but he honestly thought it was nothing. They both did.

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><p><strong><em>1 Week ago<em>**

_The two boys were sat in The Lima Bean one Saturday morning marvelling joyfully in the familiarity of ordering a Medium Drip and a Grande Non fat mocha and being able to simply just spend some much needed quality time together, just like they used to in School. Kurt was graduating from McKinley on the Wednesday so of course Blaine had come down from Michigan to support his boyfriend. Exams had finished but he now had the tedious job of packing up his dorm room to look forward to._

_Since his senior year, his parents had refused to accept him as a part of their life whilst he was dating Kurt so Blaine didn't really feel like he had a home to call his own when he was outside of School. He continued to live at Dalton as his father continued to pay the tuition - he also "generously" set up a savings account with a substantial amount of money in for Blaine to be able to go to College because as his father saw it "No matter what your so called "lifestyle choices" are, I still want to know we provided you with the means to get the best education possible but while your with "that boy" I don't want to see you again". His parents hardly accepted him as gay so when he announced that he was dating Kurt, well that was the cherry on top for them. So Blaine had been forced to spend the summer before College with David's family. He'd been best friends with David (and Wes) since he transferred to Dalton and they were both going to the same College in September so David insisted he stay with him - his family loved Blaine too so there was no problem. Of course he would have loved to stay with Kurt but he felt that might be a step too soon in their relationship and he wasn't prepared to do anything that could possibly jeopardise what they have._

_The conversation topics in the coffee shop varied from Blaines exams, to Kurts exams, to the latest drama in the soap opera that was Finn and Rachel's 'relationship' that was on and off more times than a light bulb down to the Graduation attire where Kurt remarked how the hat would ruin his hair - totally unacceptable in is eyes but Blaine couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable his boyfriend was. His hand reached across the table and taking Kurts hand in his, he reaffirmed his biast view that Kurt would look amazing on Wednesday - even with the hat in tow._

_"Kurt what's that"_

_"Hm?"_

_"Babe you have a bruise on your arm." His hazel eyes looked lovingly worried at the younger boy whilst absentmindedly stroking the bruise with his thumb, rubbing circles into it every now and again. "What happened?"_

_They both stared at the purple discolouration that looked out of place against Kurts smooth, pale complexion_

_"I, erm, I honestly don't know. I must've hit my arm against my bedside table in my sleep or something. Its probably nothing." Kurt shrugged the matter off. He was baffled by the mark as much as Blaine but didn't fret on the matter for too long. He blinked slowly and raised his free hand to his forehead, rubbing it lethargically. This didn't go unnoticed by his boyfriend who indulged in a sip of his Medium Drip._

_"You look tired"_

_"Yeah I've kind of been feeling it recently. Its just in the last couple of weeks as well. I mean I've been getting my full 10 hours which I require if I'm to keep up this flawless complexion" He affirmed proudly pointing to his beaming face which Blaine couldn't help but smirk at. "Its probably the stress of finals and graduation and everything"_

_"Hmm, Well at least that'll all be over by Wednesday huh"_

_"Yeah I guess. God I cant believe its all gonna be over in just a few days. You know, as much as I hate having to deal with all the drama that goes on all year - I cant imagine my life without it. Surprisingly I'll even miss having to deal with Finn and Rachel's drama in nearly every glee rehearsal but then again, that'll just get carried on at home so I guess some things wont be too different._

_Sure Finn and Kurts relationship hadn't got off to the best start but ever since their parents got together in the boys Sophomore year of school and then decided to marry in their Junior year, they slowly started to build a relationship that any blood related siblings could rival - they themselves even forgot sometimes that they weren't actually blood related because it just felt so natural - Kurt had become a brother to Finn like Finn had become a brother to Kurt._

_The remainder of the weekend flew by so quickly and before Kurt knew it, It was Wednesday - the day his high school life officially ended and he entered the "real world". 18 months ago, Kurt would've reluctantly admitted that he was scared of the real world - sure he had his friends and family to support him but surrounding him was constant judgement, hate and prejudice but then he met Blaine. Yeah people still judged them and made snide comments, but somehow, Kurt seemed less bothered because he knew he had found love and when he was with Blaine, it was like everything else was irrelevant - nothing else mattered. So now Graduation day wasn't filled with fear and doubt, it was filled with hope and happiness because he was going to leave high school and enter the world with Blaine right beside him._

_"Daniel Hart, Ryan Heyes, Sophie Hughes, Kurt Hummel"_

_As the countertenor stepped onto the podium to collect the rolled up piece of paper officially declaring him a graduate of William McKinley High School, his family couldn't help but create a deafening commotion in support. Over all the applause and hooting being created from the other people in the room, including his New Directions friends (well, old New Direction friends now) he could faintly hear the gruff voice of his father shouting "That's my boy! That's my boy!". Daring to look over to smile at his supporters, he caught the eyes of his boyfriend who beaming with pride, stood amongst the crowd, proudly clapping and doing so in a calm like manner unlike everyone else surrounding him. As the two boys gazes met each others, their smiles grew wider and Blaine winked as Kurt shuffled off the podium to join his fellow graduates._

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><p><em>The next night, the two boys lay comfortably on Kurts bed with Blaines arm wrapped over Kurts shoulder, pulling them as close together as was possible. Kurt rested his head and one of his hands on Blaines chest. The position was so natural, so easy and comfortable to them - like they had been and could do it forever.<em>

_"Do you really have to go back so soon?" Kurt hated the fact that his boyfriend had only been back for a few days and he already had to say goodbye. He was fully aware that it was now officially summer and once Blaine had tied up all loose ends in Michigan, they would have 3 carefree months to spend together as they wished, but being in Blaines arms reminded him that when he was there and with Blaine, he never wanted to be anywhere else or with anyone else - he never wanted to let go but Blaine felt the exact same way. They were truly, hopelessly in love with each other._

_Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurts forehead. "If I don't go tomorrow, I never will. Besides, think of it this way, I go tomorrow, it'll take me like 2, maybe 3 days given how lazy I can be sometimes, to pack up the dorm and then I'm back and then we have the whole summer to look forward to."_

_"Hmmmm." Two to three days still wasn't good enough for Kurt although he knew he could do it - heck, he had spent months away from Blaine when he was at university but maybe that was more acceptable to Kurt because he knew Blaine had to go to class and Kurt had his own classes to attend. Maybe it was the fact that now that neither boy had any classes to attend anymore that he just wanted them to stay with each other. "Why don't you just get David to pack it up for you and send it down?"_

_"Kurt, if you think I'm bad at packing, you should see David's idea of it. if it was Wes, I'd probably consider the idea but when it comes to David, lets just say, not everything gets from one destination to the other in one piece. I may be bad at packing but at least I can guarantee that everything will come back with me. "_

_Fondly remembering how untidy David's dorm room used to be at Dalton, Kurt didn't doubt his boyfriends comment. "Alright. Oh hey, I booked a doctors appointment for tomorrow"_

_Blaine straightened up at this, bringing Kurt with him. "Oh well-w-why didn't you tell me?_

_"Well I'm telling you now aren't I" Kurt remarked whilst taking Blaine's hand in his own. "Sorry it just slipped my mind - the last few days have been pretty crazy."_

_"Well do you want me to stay with you, I mean, I can always go back up to Michigan later on in the day"_

_"Nooo no don't be silly, its just a doctors appointment. I just want to talk to them about how tired I feel like all the time. Like I thought after finals had finished I'd feel more energised but I still don't feel any better. And I keep having moments where I just feel really hot all of a sudden and its happened at night a couple of times too, like night sweats so I just want to see what they say."_

_Blaine stared at Kurt, hanging on to every word that Kurt said. Even when he was talking about something awful, Blaine couldn't help but notice how beautiful his boyfriends voice was but he was still extremely concerned over what the countertenor had just said. "Babe that doesn't sound good. Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"_

_"Dads already said he'll come with me. Besides, the sooner you get to Michigan, the sooner you can come back to me." The younger boy beamed at the thought of his boyfriend coming home but picking up on Blaine's anxiousness, the smile soon faded away and his tone became more serious. "I'll call you, don't worry"_

_This sudden rush of anxiousness had overwhelmed Blaine and he wasn't even looking at Kurt at this point. He instead chose to admire their entwined hands._

_"Okay" he eventually mournfully murmured out._

_Desperate to reassure him, Kurt placed his hand against Blaine's cheek "Hey, look at me" Blaine slowly looked up and once the warm, familiar hazel eyes met his blue eyes, Kurt continued. "I am fine. Everything is going to be fine"_

_"I love you"_

_Kurt beamed when his boyfriend said those words - those 3 simple words still made Kurts heart beat just that little bit faster every time Blaine said them. "I love you too" Kurt leaned forward and placed a tender kiss to Blaines lips._

_And with that, the boys mutually decided to turn off the lights and go to sleep, originating back to the position they'd been in moments before their late night conversation took a serious turn._

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><p><em>Blaine awoke the next morning to find the usually warm space next to him was mysteriously cold. And empty. "where's Kurt" he thought. Rolling over onto his side, lo and behold, he discovered a piece of paper carefully placed against the lamp on the bedside table. The handwriting was unmistakeable.<em>

**_Morning Handsome,_**

**_The doctors called this morning and they had a cancellation so they were able to see me at 9 instead so I've had to go and you were so tired last night that I didn't have the heart to wake you this morning, especially as I know you have a long drive ahead of you. There's no need to rush though - help yourself to coffee, breakfast etc - you know where everything is. If you're gone before I get home, I'll call you tomorrow and I'll see you in a few days - Cant wait already. Pathetic aren't I, I'm staring at you while I'm writing this and I miss you already. Just hurry up and pack Blaine Warbler_**

**_I love you _**

_**Kurt x**  
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_Blaine couldn't help but grin whilst reading the note his boyfriend had left for him. He often found himself wondering how he had let their friendship go on for so long because this, being with Kurt and having Kurt leave him cheesy but insanely adorable notes, for him, this was the best feeling in the world and he was certain he wanted this forever._

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><p><em>Whilst Blaine attempted to distract himself by packing his belongings into countless brown boxes marked "Books" "Clothes" "Shoes" etc, he still found himself checking his phone every few minutes. This didn't go unnoticed by David who was casually laying on his bed, reading his book but peered above it every now and then to see Blaine repeat the same action. "Okay Dude seriously what is up with you and that phone! You've been picking it up, sighing and chucking it back down for like the past day now. I think the only time you've taken a break from it is when you go to pee, but I don't know, you probably do it there as well!"<em>

_"Sorry. It's just Kurt had his doctors appointment yesterday and he said he'd call and he hasn't called and I'm just really worried. I should've stayed, I knew I should've stayed - I mean, what good am I when I'm over 100 miles away and just - oh god, sorry I'm rambling" Blaine slumped onto his own bed._

_"Yeah you are but its cool. Look, Kurt will call, he's probably just busy at the moment. Or maybe he's got himself a new man" The pillow being flung from one side of the room to the other hit David quicker then he could actually realise what was happening. "Ow! It was a joke! Look, on a serious note, I'm sure everything is fine. Besides, don't they always say 'No news is good news'?"_

_"Yeah I guess. Thanks man."_

_Blaine knew he could always rely on David to make him feel better. David smiled at him and quickly returned to his book_

_"Dude I still cant believe your reading 'Twilight'" Blaine remarked attempting to stifle a laugh but consequently failed._

_"Shut up! Jenna practically begged me to read it and shamefully, its not even that bad. I think she wants me to pick up some tips from this Edward guy to be honest - the guy is one romantic bastard. Probably puts both of us to shame as boyfriends and he's not even real!"_

_"Yeah you keep telling yourself that buddy - we both know that even if Jenna hadn't told you to read it, you probably would've done at some point" Blaine winked at and embarrassed David who muttered a "whatever" in response and slunk back down into his book._

_Ring Ring, Ring Ring_

_Without even looking up from the romance novel, David acknowledged the fact Blaines phone was now ringing. "See, I told you he would call. David's never wrong now is he"_

_"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say" Seeing Kurts name appear on the screen made his chest flutter every time. He didn't even hesitate in answering the call and probably answered it a bit too eagerly_

_"Hey babe, god you've had me so worried, is everything okay, how did the doctors go? what did th-_

_"Blaine?"_

_The gruff sounding voice on the other end was most certainly not the voice of his countertenor boyfriends._

_"Burt? Oh Hi, sorry, is everything okay, where's Kurt?"_

_"Blaine, I think you should come down son"_

_"W-w-why, what wrong, where's Kurt?"_

_"Please kiddo just, just get here as soon as you can okay. We're at the hospital. I'll see you soon"_

_"The hospital! Burt Wait w-whats - "_

_Burt promptly hung up on Blaine. He knew it wasn't the kindest thing to do but it took everything he had in him to not tell Blaine there and then and that was certainly not the news one wanted to hear over the phone._

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><p><strong>Sorry to end it on a cliffhanger but i have to keep you guys interested somehow right ;D I've already got Part 2 wrote where in case you haven't figured it out already, you do find out whats wrong with Kurt - Reviews will make it come up faster *Hint Hint* :D<strong>

**I hope it wasnt too awful :)**_  
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	2. Chapter 1 Part 2

**A/N - So seeing as all of my friends have deserted me this summer to go to all parts of the world for weeks on end (Although my best friend is back on the 19th after a 3 week long ass holiday :D), Nobody in the UK seems capable of giving me a job and not to mention that i get my AS level results tommorow which i'm basically crapping bricks over - writing this is the only thing that is keeping me sane right now. So can i just say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed this story - You guys literally put the biggest smile on my face, i was completely shocked and overwhelmed. I obviously wanted people to read this but i was definately not expecting the reaction i got so seriously, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I literally started writing Chapter 2 that same night cause i had so much motivation. So i love you guys basically :) **

**So this is part 2 - I hope you guys like it ;O - We're still in the middle of Blaine thinking back on how he found out so as soon as the story stops being in italics, we're back in like real time :D**

**Disclaimer - I dont own Glee - If i did, i'd probably eventually just fade everyone into the background and make it all about Kurt and Blaine ;)  
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><p><em>It felt like the long winding highway was never going to end. The normal two hour drive over the state lines felt like an eternity today. It was a good thing it was nearing sunset and the roads were pretty empty because Blaine was pretty sure he was doing over the speed limit but he didn't care today because Kurt was his only priority at the moment and he just needed to get to him as fast as he could. All manner of thoughts were running frantically through Blaine's mind as he drove along the protracted road "'What the hell's going on? Is Kurt okay? Why are they at the hospital? Why did Burt call me and Kurt didn't?" So many questions were coming into his head that he didn't know the answers to and he realised his first question still had yet to be answered - "What happened at the Doctors?"<em>

_This was going to be a long drive._

_As soon as Blaine arrived at the Lima Memorial Hospital, he pulled into the first space he could find, grabbed his phone, wallet and jacket from the passenger seat and practically sprinted to the reception doors where the sliding doors that would have normally appeared to have opened in supersonic speed seemed to be opening slower than a snail sliding across the concrete ground. He quickly realised that Burt hadn't actually told him where to go once he found himself inside the morose building but he didn't have to think for long._

_"Blaine"_

_Blaine spun around on his heels to find an exhausted Burt standing right behind him. The puffiness of his bloodshot eyes uncovered the fact that Burt had been crying - probably not that long before Blaine had arrived too._

_"Oh god if Burts crying, it must be bad" he thought._

_"Burt. W-what's going on, Where's Kurt?"_

_Looking away from Blaine, The older man slowly closed his eyes and slightly shook his head. He knew he was about to deliver some of the worst news anyone could ever hear in their life and Blaine was only 19 - nothing could possibly prepare him for this. Burt sometimes forgot that Blaine was still only a teenager. He acted so mature beyond his years that he often overlooked the fact that he was only a year older than Kurt._

_"Not here son" He walked over to Blaine and placed a gentle hand against his back, guiding him to the private family room they'd been allowed to use - He figured there was no way Blaine would want strangers around him once he knew. The room was small with plastic chairs lined up against all four of the light blue walls with a coffee table centred in the middle of the floor. A slight chill danced through the windows, lingering in the air causing Blaine to shiver slightly as he walked into the bleak room._

_"Listen, Kiddo, I know your desperate to see Kurt but I need to tell you something first."_

_"Burt W-what's.."_

_"Please Blaine just..." Blaine nodded sensing the difficulty Burt was having in whatever it was he wanted to say. He was just so concerned and full of panic that he just needed answers but he let him continue - he'd get his answers soon enough. "Now Kurt didn't think he'd be able to tell you this so he asked me to - is t-that okay with you?"_

_"Yeah, I mean of course j-just..."_

_"Okay...I'll just start at the beginning then." he exhaled a few times, regaining his composure, sat up straight against the chair, turned to Blaine and began. "Okay, well you know Kurt had his doctors appointment on Friday right. Well the doctor seemed pretty concerned so he asked Kurt to come back in this morning so that he could spend more time with him and, you know, get a more detailed outlook on things. So we were with the doctor- and-one minute Kurt was talking, the next, he'd...he'd f-fainted"_

_"Wha-"_

_"Yeah, so Dr Williams called an ambulance and got him admitted here as soon as possible, I mean he came round in the ambulance but, I could see it on their faces, it-it was like they were piecing all the symptoms together"_

_"Symptoms? Wait wh-"_

_Burt promptly held up a finger to let Blaine know he wasn't finished. It wasn't intended to be a rude gesture but he just had to get it all out - with no interruptions and he didn't want to leave Blaine too much time to think about what he had just told him when the worst was yet to leave his mouth._

_"So we got here, he was admitted him into a room and the nurses decided it would be best to do some blood tests. So they did. And t-the results came back about an hour before I called you"_

_Worried wasn't even the word to describe how Blaine was feeling now - he was absolutely petrified._

_"B-Burt? W-what is it? Did-oh my god-did-did they find something"_

_This was it. There was no going back now. The next word was surely going to change Blaines life just like Kurt's and Burts had been hours before._

_"Kurt, he-Its Cancer."_

_Well that was the last thing Blaine expected._

_He let out a scoff in disbelief - surely this wasn't true...right? Burts face confirmed that no, this was indeed true. "I'm sorry, what?"_

_"Its Leukaemia. Its stage two so their pretty hopeful at the moment but.."_

_Blaines chest started to heave up and down as his heart started to constrict. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He lifted a hand to his mouth and whispered "Oh my god" before resting his head in both his hands. "Oh my god" he kept whispering to himself._

_Without warning, Blaine suddenly felt a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry kiddo, I-I know its a lot to take in. Do-do you need some time alone?"_

_Drops of grief started to escape from Blaines eyes as he nodded slowly in response to Burts question._

_"Okay, I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything. Carole's on her way over and I think she's picking up Finn too - she's only just found someone to cover her shift - s-she doesn't know 'everything' yet." Blaine mournfully nodded at Burt, understanding exactly what Burt meant by 'everything'. "I'm er, I'm giving him some space at the moment - the last thing I want to do is overcrowd him but I know he's waiting for you - but take your time. He doesn't know you're here yet so he cant get angry at you for taking too long right?" Burt suggested trying to lighten the dejected mood._

_"Yeah I-I guess" The older man started to make his way out of the room when he heard "Burt" which caused him to turn back and see the painful sight of the broken boy in front of him. "What room is he in?"_

_"Oh sorry - he's in 317. Just tell the Nurses station you're here for him and they'll let you through."_

_And with that Blaine found himself alone in the empty room with nothing but his thoughts to accompany him._

_I cant believe this is actually happening_

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><p><em>It was only when Blaine found himself outside room 317 that he realised that he'd actually managed to remove himself from the plastic chair situated in the family room and make his way onto the hospital ward. He felt like he was having an out of body experience - it was like he wasn't even in control of his own body anymore - like he was just dreamily drifting along on a white fluffy cloud of happiness. Except this cloud was Grey. Dark grey - Black even and happiness was one thing it was certainly not. His body was just drifting along on a dark cloud of depression. He watched as his hand knocked against the closed door twice which then elicited a "Come in" from the younger boy waiting for him on the other side.<em>

_Kurt face broke out into a smile as he realised who he had given permission to come into the room. "Hey sweetie. Now before you even say something Anderson cause I know you're thinking up some witty comment to say to me about this gown but as soon as I am out of here, I-"_

_Even though he was looking at him, Kurt only just acknowledged the fact that a solemn boy stood before him who looked at him like his world was about to end at any minute. "Pull yourself together. Kurt needs you right now" Blaine thought to himself but at that moment in time, his emotions were so strong they overpowered his conscious._

_Kurts tone turned more serious. He kept his voice low as he looked sympathetically at Blaine. "Did he tell you?"_

_Blaine had to look away as he felt a fresh set of unshed tear travel up towards his eyes. He had to be strong for Kurt. A single tear glided down his cheekbone as he nodded. He heard Kurt exhale and shuffing as Kurt made room on the bed for Blaine to lie with him. He patted the space that he'd created. "Come here. Come on"_

_As the older boy made himself comfortable in the space he'd been given, Kurt wrapped his arm around his shoulders, pulling him so close that Blaine could hear Kurts heartbeat as he buried his head into his chest. The younger boy placed a chaste kiss to the older boys forehead._

_"Hi" Kurt whispered._

_"I'm so sorry" Blaine whispered as tear after tear escaped from the corners of his hazel eyes. He didn't quite know what he was apologizing for. Was he sorry that he was crying in front of Kurt when he promised to himself that he would be strong for his boyfriend? Was he sorry that he hadn't been with Kurt when he found out? Was he sorry that Kurt had cancer?_

_"Hey." Blaine felt a strong, warm hand clasp his cheek, forcing him to look into the blue eyes of the boy who was staring intently at him. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for okay. Now I promise you, everything is going to be fine." Kurt brushed his thumb against his boyfriends cheek gently wiping away a tear that had released itself from the hazel eyes. He started to run his fingers through Blaines hair, loving the fact that it was ungelled so he had the opportunity to tug gently at the soft, familiar curls. He was literally trying absolutely anything to relax Blaine, anything that would help him feel just that little bit better. "Are you okay?"_

_Kurt had always been a selfless person and was always thinking about others - it was one of the many things Blaine fell in love with but seriously? Kurt was the one who needed to be comforted right now so why was he acting the stronger one out of the two of them. Especially at this moment in their lives, Kurt was allowed to be selfish. "Are you serious? You've just been told some of the worst news ever and you're asking me if I'm okay?"_

_"Just because I have cancer, doesn't mean I've lost the ability to care. It doesn't mean that I cant look after my boyfriend and ask him if he's alright."_

_"I should be the one looking after you though." Blaine mumbled, his voice muffled by the younger boy's chest._

_"You already are just by being here you big dope"_

_When Burt had left him alone in the family room earlier that night, Blaine had promised to himself that he was going to look after Kurt and be there for him every step of the way. He was determined to keep that promise and he was going to start right now._

_"Are you okay?"_

_Kurt pondered on those 3 words for a moment. He'd had a lot of time to think about everything since being told but he hadn't actually had to say how he felt out loud yet._

_"Kind of. I mean, I'm scared - really scared actually, but, I mean, its just the beginning really. We've still got a long way to go."_

_He was right though. This really was the beginning. Who knew how long this would be a fixture of their lives - it could be years. The thought of Kurt possibly suffering for years caused Blaine even more unimaginable heartbreak than he already felt. He didn't even want to think about how long this could go on for._

_"What's gonna happen now? I mean-"_

_"Doctor-doc-oh crap I've forgotten his name already but he's gonna come in first thing tomorrow morning and talk to us about Chemotherapy treatment plans I can do or other options we can explore."_

_Blaines private thoughts suddenly came spilling out of his mouth. "You thought it was exhaustion."_

_"Hmm. What's that babe?"_

_"You-you thought it was exhaustion. And the f-fevers and even this" Blaine brought his hand up to the bruise that still lay against Kurts arm. "They were all signs weren't they. They were there and I-I didn't even notice them"_

_Realising what Blaine was saying, Kurt sat up straight on the bed, taking Blaines hands in his and bringing him up too. He wanted Blaine to look him in the eye when he said this. He needed him to believe every single word of what he was going to say._

_"Blaine Anderson, don't you even dare try to start blaming yourself for this. This is my body and I didn't even realise so how could you have. Sweetie, you-you cant start beating yourself up over something you have no way of controlling."_

_"But if I'd noticed earlier, or if we'd got you to the doctors earlier or-"_

_"Or what? Baby you can sit here and wonder "What if, what if" until the cows come home but at the end of the day, we'd still be in the same position we're in now - the outcome would have still been the same. Now this isn't the end okay - we are going to get through this and everything will be okay"_

_"But you don't know that Kurt. None of us do"_

_"I know but...Okay look, you know when Dad had his heart attack?"_

_Blaine nodded in response, confused as to where Kurt was going with this but intrigued all the same._

_"Well Mercedes took me to church one Sunday. Maybe it was her one last attempt to try and convert me but she told me something that's stuck with me since that day. She said that I had to believe in something - something bigger than me because life is too hard to go through alone. Now I don't know how much comfort that offers you but, I guess what I'm trying to say is, you just have to hope."_

_A single tear dropped down Blaines cheek as he looked up, where he realised that a single tear had betrayed the eyes of his boyfriend too._

_"I just-I love you so much Kurt that the-the thought of losing you - I-I cant even"_

_"You're not going to lose me. How could I go anywhere when the thought of a future with you is enough to make me want to fight this with every fibre in my body."_

_Kurt brought one of his hands to the back of Blaines neck and placed a tender kiss to his lips. As they broke away from the embrace, they pressed their foreheads against each others - their many thoughts and emotions cognitively uniting them._

_"I love you" Blaine whispered_

_"I love you too"_

_The two boys lips met in unison once again as they shared another kiss. This one, more passionate than the last but tender and sweet all the same. As they broke away, Blaine placed a chaste kiss to Kurts forehead."_

_"You should get some sleep" he whispered to the younger boy as he wrapped a protective arm over his shoulders and brought Kurt back down to lay on the hospital bed._

_As the two lay there, in silence, their apprehensive breathing the only sound being heard around the room, one thought kept returning to the forefront of Blaines thoughts._

_Just one._

_Please be okay Kurt - don't leave me._

* * *

><p>The moon had taken its curtain call as the sun began to slowly make a reprise to the still fairly dark, blue sky. Blaine had no idea what time it was but he guessed it was around 4am-ish. Kurt had been sleeping for a few hours now and as much as Blaine wanted to join him in dreamland (dreamland was certainly better than reality at this moment), his eyes, body and mind failed to agree with him. Knowing Kurts sleeping patterns like he knew the back of his hand, he knew Kurt wouldn't wake up at least for another couple of hours so he placed a soft kiss to his forehead and silently promised to himself that he would be back before Kurt would even became aware that he had gone in the first place. The fact that Kurts forehead still held a slight fever reaffirmed everything he had been told earlier that night.<p>

As he incautiously shuffled down the corridors of the hospitals, Blaine remembered why he always held such a deep repugnance towards the acrimonious buildings. He didn't even know it was possible to hate so many things in one place. The continuous, repeated beeping sounds coming from various machines around the wards ringed relentlessly in his ears. For all he knew, the machines could have been for anything - they could have been a machine that was just simply monitoring a patients heart rate or the beeping could have belonged to a patient on life support, fighting for their life with everything they had. The smell of bleach that wafted through the air, concealing any unwelcome scent but not strong enough to obscure the aroma of the hospital food that drifted from the on ward kitchens and cafeterias. Strangers surrounded by strangers in an impersonal waiting room, each either revelling joyfully in good news, some distraught and inconsolable by bad news and some apprehensive with panic at the result of no news. Yeah, Blaine really hated hospitals.

As he wondered aimlessly around the corridors, he'd found himself standing outside of the Cafeteria. 'Might as well get a coffee while I'm here'. Sure it would be no 'Medium Drip' from The Lima bean but anything would've tasted good today. As he held the hot beverage in his hand, he instantly recognised the burly form of his boyfriends father sitting alone at a coffee table, slumped in the chair.

"Hey Burt"

The older man looked up at the boy from under the peak of his navy baseball cap. Blaine fondly remembered the time when Kurt had practically begged his dad to let Kurt buy him a brand new cap for him but Burt out right refused exclaiming "This is my lucky hat Kurt" which Kurt refused to listen to, bought him a cap anyway which much to Kurts dismay, was isolated to the depths of Burts wardrobe and was never to be seen again.

"Oh hey Kiddo." Burt gestured to the chair opposite from him to which Blaine sat down in. " I told Carole and Finn to go home a couple of hours ago"

"Oh right. How erm, How were they?"

"Shocked. Devastated basically. I mean Carole just broke down in tears and Finn, well I don't think he knew what to say exactly. He just sort of sat there in disbelief really - but he sort of always has that look on his face. Sorry, now's not really the time to joke huh"

Blaine let out a slight chuckle. "No its not but I know exactly what you mean about Finn. Besides, we could all do with a little pick me up at the moment."

Burt smiled sadly. "Yeah. They'll be back in a few hours for when Doctor Rolstone wants to talk to us - I think they said he'll come in around 9"

"Oh is that his name then?"

"Huh?"

"Oh sorry, Kurt, he er, couldn't remember the name of the Doctor - I'm guessing that's him though?"

"Oh er, yeah that's him." Burt's eyes focused on Blaine, like he was studying every feature about the boy in front of him. He could see the faint lines of the tears that had run down his cheeks earlier that night. He noticed the redness of his eyes - he guessed that was the result of a priceless concoction of crying and tiredness. Blaines usually well groomed hair was now unkempt, not untidy but more unruly than usual - Burt could tell he'd run his hands through it countless times because of stress. The final thing he noticed was the young boys posture. Blaine was a confident young man and that always was visible in how he talked, stood, sat etc. But today, his body slumped to one side as he held his head in his right hand, his left hand holding the cappuccino he'd bought minutes before. Without Blaine having to say a single word, his appearance told Burt everything - he was broken.

"How you holding up kiddo"

Blaine didn't quite know how to answer that. he hesitated for a breath before replying "As good as can be I guess. You?"

"As good as can be"

Blaine smiled sadly at the man he had come to know and love as if he was his own father before taking a sip of his incredibly hot but incredibly cheap tasting coffee.

"How was er, how was Kurt when you were with him?"

"Scared but surprisingly okay. I mean he was the one looking after me more than I was him."

"Sounds like him"

"I know but, I felt so guilty. I felt like I should've been doing everything I could to just help him and let him know I'm going to be there for him but, I don't know, everything just seemed so unreal at the time and my emotions just sort of took control"

"He already knows Blaine. You don't have to tell him anything - he knows you're going to be there and I know you're going to be there. You know I love you like your my own son Blaine and I have a lot of respect for you. I mean, I don't know where Kurt would be if you hadn't come into his life."

"I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't come into mine"

Burt smiled at Blaines simple but sweet answer. He loved hearing about Blaines love towards Kurt. His son had suffered so much in his life so to hear how he was loved deeply by someone who his son loved just as much - it warmed Burts heart.

"But seriously, You know I had to watch him go through life scared, and alone. I even told him at one point that until he found someone as brave as he was, he would have to get used to going at life alone and I hoped so much for the day he would find someone like you. And when he did, I watched the fear in him slowly decrease until it was practically non-existent. You did that Blaine and for that, I will always be thankful to you."

"Burt are you trying to bring up a fresh set of tears cause if you are, you're going the right way about it" Blaine remarked whilst sniffing, trying to hold back like he said, a fresh set of tears.

"I'm not kid, I just, I needed you to know that."

"That means a lot Burt. Thank you"

"So I been thinking a lot about this and I want to ask you something"

"Okay? Should-should I be worried?"

Burt let out a soft laugh as he shook his head. "I was hoping that you would consider moving in with us."

"What. Are-are you serious"

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't. Look, I know that throughout this whole...ordeal, your gonna want to be with Kurt - I mean heck you even told me so yourself a few minutes ago. I know Kurt will want you there and truth be told, I want you there too."

"Gee well yeah. Yes of course. Thank you so much Burt, you have no idea how much this means to me"

"No problem, but there's one condition."

And here it was. Blaine knew there had to be some sort of catch. It was just too good to be true.

"I want you to know that this 'moving in' deal - it doesn't just apply throughout the time that Kurts ill."

The confused expression that was wiped across Blaines face told Burt that he was going to have to elaborate further."

"Look, I don't know the in's and out's of everything that happened with your parents in Senior year but for you to leave home because you were dating Kurt - you know, that's a pretty big deal. And like I said, I know Kurt will want you there with him throughout this whole thing but I want you to know that you have a place you can call your home for as long as you want."

Speechless. Blaine was completely and utterly speechless. This man sitting in front of him, in the 2 years he had known him and right at this moment, had showed him more love and compassion than his own father had done in his entire life.

"I-I-Thank you. Seriously Burt, I cant think of any words to actually - just- Thank you"

"Don't sweat it buddy. You practically live there anyway when you're not at school so might as well make it official"

Burt had no problem with Blaine moving in - he already thought of him as his honorary son in law despite only being 19. He knew the two boys were in this relationship for the long haul - he had accepted a long time ago that this was more than just a high school romance. He knew that Blaine was most likely 'the one' for Kurt and Kurt was 'the one' for Blaine - he could see it whenever the two were together. They were so in sync with each other that Burt felt nothing but happiness for the two of them. Burt had always liked Blaine, even before him and Kurt started dating. Blaine cared for Kurt and the spring in his sons steps whenever the two had spoken or been together was visible from a mile off. Kurt needed Blaine as much as Blaine needed Kurt.

Blaine decided that he could spend a little longer sitting with Burt. After all, Kurt wasn't the only one that was suffering.

* * *

><p><strong>No Cliffhanger endingg ;D <strong>  
><strong>Did you guys notice my 'Grilled Cheesus' and 'Duets' references in what Kurt and Burt said ;) I had such a moment of proudness when i realised how i could include them in this - Sad i know :**  
><strong>I hope you guys liked thiss and Chapter 2 is oh so nearly finished! I've been writing it for like the past 3 days :O So I have to finish it, edit it, proof read etc and then I shall post it for your (hopefully) enjoyment to read :D<strong>  
><strong>Dont forget to reviewww(A) i read and appreciate every single comment. See you soon my lovelyss(L)<strong>


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N - Hey Guyss:) So here we are againn :) Again I'd just like to say Thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed this story - I really am like so happy that you guys are reading this and hopefully liking it - lemme know ;D I'd love to know what you think:) **

**Oooh btw, just incase any of you are interested, in my last Authors note, i said about getting my AS level results the day after i published Chapter 1 Part 2 - Well i got B,C,D,D - not great i know..hello resits next year(Y) But the 'B' was in English and I got an 'A' in the actual exam so i guess that shows im not that awful at writing right? ;)**

**Disclaimer - Its quite hard to think of quirky things to say but basically, unfortunately, I don't own Glee or any of these characters /3**

* * *

><p>As Blaine and Burt continued to talk long into the early hours of the morning, the older boy was shocked when he looked down to find the two hands on his watch informed him the time was now 5:15am.<p>

"I should probably be getting back. Are you gonna come up?"

"Nah kid it's alright. Carole and Finn are coming back around Half 7-8 so I'll just wait around for them - probably grab another coffee while I'm here. Besides, I'll let you boys have some alone time today. Just tell Kurt that we'll be up there before the Doctor comes."

Blaine nodded whilst giving Burts shoulder a reassuring squeeze before he strolled out of the cafeteria and back along the comfortless, cold corridors.

As he made his reappearance in Kurts room, Blaine was startled to find the bed in front of him lay empty.

"Uh Hum"

Blaine jumped as the abruptness of the unexpected noise from behind him caused both his heart and pulse rate to mildly increase as a result of slight fear. As he turned around, he realised he had nothing to be scared of because standing in the doorway, with one arm against the doorframe and the other hand placed firmly on his hip, was Kurt Hummel. Blaine smiled in relief that not only had the noise come from a familiar face, but that his boyfriend had decided to return to the room but judging by the look on the younger boys face, Blaine wondered if there was a slight possibility that he was in Kurts bad books and from previous experience, Kurts bad books was one place he certainly didn't want to find himself in again anytime soon.

"Hi" he sheepishly said. Noticing that Kurts facial expression had yet to soften he continued. "Wh-Wh-Where did you go?" Blaine managed to blurt out whilst pointing to the bed

"I could ask you the same thing Blaine Warbler but I can smell the Coffee from here so I don't think I need to." Kurt quipped with a smile beginning to betray his stony stare as he walked back into the room. He wasn't even angry at Blaine. He just found it hilarious how guilty he could make Blaine feel when he thought he was - It had become one of his favourite pastimes over the course of their relationship. "And for your information, I went to the bathroom."

"Oh" Blaine simply replied.

"Besides, I was sorta having trouble sleeping after a while so I thought getting out of the room for a while might help clear my head a little. I'm guessing that's what you done too?" Kurt said as he slightly cocked his head to the side, trying to meet his boyfriends eyes.

"Yeah. I-I couldn't really sleep" His shoulders shrugged as he sheepishly replied.

Kurt smiled sadly at his boyfriend. He knew he had absolutely no control over what was happening but he hated seeing Blaine go through this pain and knowing that what was happening to him was the cause of it. Without saying anything, Kurt opened out his arms, silently inviting Blaine into a hug to which he gladly accepted. The two boys heads rested comfortably on the others shoulders as they stayed in the embrace and had no desire to break it any time soon.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up." Blaine mumbled against Kurts neck.

"Well I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to find you gone but I'm not holding you prisoner" Kurt commented with a giggle. "Besides, I know today has been hard so I think I can forgive you just this once."

Dripping at the seams with sarcasm, Blaine replied "Oh gee, thanks."

As they eventually broke the embrace and made their way towards the bed, the two boys lay next to one another in comfortable silence, their hands fitting perfectly together as they entwined into each other. Kurts nestled his head into the crook of Blaines neck allowing Blaine to gently lie his head on top of Kurts - This position giving him the welcome oppurtunity to place sporadic kisses to Kurts forehead.

"How was the coffee then?" The younger boy remarked as the powerful tang of coffee radiated off of the older boy and travelled up Kurts nostrils.

"Not even worth talking about" Blaine swiftly commented in response. He knew now to never take 'The Lima Bean' for granted and would still be grateful even if his Medium Drip was delivered to him at a temperature less than scalding hot.

"That bad huh."

"Pretty much." he retorted before leaning over, placing a soft kiss to Kurts forehead.

"I-I was thinking earlier..." Kurt started, as he absentmindedly slowly ran a finger up and down Blaines chest, occasionally creating patterns against the black polo shirt.

"Yeah?"

"And well, I-I mean you don't have to if you don't want to-I'll completely understand."

"Kurt, you know I would do anything for you. Besides, you haven't even told me what it is yet so I cant refuse just yet can I."

"No i-i guess not." Kurt said, releasing a slight nervous laugh. "Its just I-I don't think I'm ready to tell everyone about me, so I was ju-just maybe wondering if-if you could? Or I mean you-you could ask Finn o-or you can both do it or...I don't know. I just-I don't think I can tell them myself but they deserve to know."

"If that's what you want Kurt then I'll do it." Blaine kissed Kurts temple as his fingers ran their way through Kurts soft, voluminous locks. "I would do anything for you, you know that."

"I know. I just-I feel so bad. I feel like I'm making everybody else do my dirty work for me. You know, like, I'm asking you, and possibly Finn, to tell the New Directions and The Warblers, Dad would've been the one to tell Carole and Finn and I asked Dad to tell you, you know. I just, I feel like I should tell them, but, i-i just, I just cant."

Vunerable, blue eyes were suddenly forced to meet sincere hazel eyes as Kurt felt a warm, strong hand clasp his cheek.

"Kurt this-this is anything but 'dirty work' okay. You have to believe me, You don't have to feel guilty about anything, alright babe."

Still looking into Blaines eyes, Kurt placed his own hand against the hand of his boyfriends that still lay against his cheek. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you by the way. I just, I didn't think I could do it. I knew out of everyone, you would be the hardest person to tell."

"It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry for." Blaine brought his lips to capture Kurt's. Blaine felt Kurt relax into the kiss almost instantly as a soft sigh escaped from the younger boys lips - It was as if all the fear he had just expressed had melted away in the comfort of this kiss. As they pulled away, Blaine placed a single kiss to Kurts forehead. "The doctor will be here in a few hours - you should try to get some more sleep."

"Mmm I could say the same for you Blaine Warbler."

"I'm fine."

"Blaine, your eyes are practically more bloodshot than a zombie's - and I haven't forgotten the little detail that you drove across statelines to be here tonight."

"But-but I wouldn't be anywhere else" he defended. Blaine couldn't think of anywhere else he would be. Kurt was his one and only priority.

"I know, but even if you don't think you are, I know you are exhausted and I can see it. So you're going to make a deal with me - I will try and go to sleep _if you _promise to do the same. Deal?" Kurt raised his eyebrows as he silently prompted an answer from Blaine.

Blaine sighed in defeat. He knew he couldn't convince Kurt despite his protests so he simply replied "Fine, deal."

"Thank you" Kurt said as he kissed Blaines forehead whilst a proud smile slyly crept upon his face because as usual, he had won. The two rarely had arguments but whenever they did have slight disagreements, Kurt would always triumph as Blaine always quickly admitted defeat, eager to avoid any trivial disagreement escalating into a full blown argument.

As Kurt burrowed himself deep into the familiar comfort of Blaines arms, Blaine listened as Kurts breathing evened out into a mellow rhythm showing that he had held up his end of the deal and fallen asleep. Despite his earlier protests and the caffeine flowing freely through his veins, Blaine found his breathing begin to even out and his eyelids slowly began to close too.

* * *

><p>As Blaine began to regain consciousness and return to reality, he sensed a pair of familiar blue eyes staring intently down at him. He squinted his eyes slightly open to see that Kurt was sitting upright beside him.<p>

"Mmmm...Why are you watching me sleep?"

"Cause I have that privilege as your boyfriend."

"Mmm" Blaine grumbled as he nestled his head even deeper into the pillow, desperately trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. "What time is it?"

"Half 8."

Blaine could have easily got whiplash considering how fast he sat bolt upright in the bed. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sleep that long."

"I told you you were tired." Kurt said as he playfully bumped his shoulder against Blaines. "Its okay though." Blaine noticed the sudden difference in Kurts tone of voice. It changed from having an assertive tone to it to sounding very dejected and the words came out so quietly they could have passed for a whisper. The younger boy sat next him, looking down, nervously rubbing his hands together.

"Hey, are you okay?" The older boy softly said as he placed a gentle arm against his boyfriends back.

"I'm nervous" the younger boy sombrely admitted.

"I know" Blaine said as he placed a kiss to Kurts shoulder before resting his head there.

"I've just been sitting here thinking for a while now and It-It's all just become...very real all of a sudden. And I'm scared about today. I mean, wh-what if I don't understand any of what the Doctor says or what if I just blank out and forget everything. Im-Im scared Blaine. Maybe I cant do this."

"I know you're scared babe - Its perfectly normal to feel that way." Blaine took his head off of Kurts shoulder and turned the boy to face him before taking his hands in his. "Now you told me last night that everything will be okay and now its my turn to tell you - everything is going to be fine. And as for when Doctor Rolstone comes in, well I'll be here - I'm not going anywhere and your dad and Carole will both be here too. So it doesn't matter if you do lose concentration and start daydreaming about Marc Jacobs next collection or what scarf you're going to wear to match this weekends outfit, because I know you've got it planned already..." The comment that proved how well his boyfriend knew every little detail about him caused a small smile to spread across Kurts face. "...because we'll listen for you. You're not alone in this Kurt, okay. I'm here for you. We're all here for you. Every step of the way."

"I know. Thank you." Kurt whispered, smiling softly at his boyfriends words of comfort.

"I love you"

"I love you too" Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaines neck as Blaines arms slipped around Kurt's waist. The two boys were so enraptured in the embrace that they hadn't even noticed the knock on the door, let alone three familiar faces enter the room.

"Oh er sorry. We're not er, we're not interrupting anything are we."

"Its just a hug dad." The rolling of Kurt's eyes was so audible in his answer.

"Can you two not keep your hands off of each other for even a minute?"

Without even turning to physically acknowledge Burts comment, Kurt and Blaine laughed as they gazed into each others eyes and simply replied "No."

"How are you boys doing?"

"Yeah we're good" Blaine answered.

"What about you?" Burt asked, his question being directly aimed at his son. "You alright there kiddo?"

"We'll see huh." Kurt simply said.

Kurt suddenly felt a pair of mothering arms wrap him into a loving hug. It was like everything she wanted to say was exhibited through this one single embrace. The woman pulled away, placing her hand against Kurts cheek so the two were looking directly at each other.

"How are you sweetie?" She softly inquired.

"I'm okay. At the moment."

Carole smiled softly at her son before placing a motherly kiss to his cheek. Kurt was more than just a stepson to Carole. Calling Kurt her stepson almost made Carole feel as though she had an obligation to act as a mother figure towards Kurt just because she had married his father, but for Carole, it was anything but an obligation. She felt honoured that she could call Kurt her son. She walked over to the other side of the bed to repeat the same maternal actions, this time for Blaine.

"Blaine sweetie, its always good to see you. How are you honey?"

"Its always good to see you too Carole and I'm okay thank you. How are you?" Judging from the redness of her usual warm eyes, Blaine could tell that Carole was far from alright.

"I'm holding up sweetie." She whispered, trying to avoid Kurt from overhearing her response - she didn't want him to feel in any way guilty for how she was feeling.

A gangly teenager stood awkwardly in the doorway, not too sure what to do or what to say.

"You can come in you know Finn" Kurt quipped from the other side of the room.

Finn slowly started to make his way into the room "Hey dude. Blaine"

A wave of silence suddenly filled the atmosphere as the five of them resided in various places around the room, each anxiously awaiting Doctor Rolstones impending arrival which was due to happen in the next few minutes. Blaine, who was still sitting next to Kurt on the bed, sensed his boyfriends anxiousness and took the younger boys hand in his own, accompanying it with a reassuring squeeze and comforting smile.

The sound of the hands ticking from the clock hanging from the white wall seemed to echo loudly around the room as the minutes seemed to crawl past when eventually, three sharp knocks were made from the other side of the door. A tall, sturdy man, dressed in the standard White coat entered the room - Kurt guessed he was in his fourties. His hair was short and brown with hints of grey here and there. His brown eyes complemented his facial features, with crinkle lines appearing around his eyes as he smiled warmly at Kurt.

"Mr Hummel?"

"Kurt"

"Kurt, its lovely to meet you. I'm Doctor Rolstone and I will be your personal Doctor so whenever you have appointments or if you have any questions, anything at all that, I'm your man okay." He seems nice Kurt thought as the Doctor flashed an encouraging smile towards him and around the room. "I assume this is all of your family?"

"Yeah, these are my parents - Burt and Carole, my brother Finn and this is my boyfriend Blaine."

The Doctor politely shook every ones hand as the introductions were made.

"Well it's lovely to meet all of you. I'm sorry its not under happier circumstances. So I guess we should just get started then yes?"

Kurt nodded. There was no way he was in any way emotionally or mentally ready to hear the words from the Doctors mouth - He hadn't forgotten he had cancer but at least before the Doctor arrived, as real as it all was, it still seemed less definite, less...final. Kurt was brought out of his thoughts as Blaine slipped his hand into Kurts. It was as if through this one sign of affection, Blaine was silently trying to tell him _"We're going to get through this together."_

Doctor Rolstone opened his folder to refer to the notes he had made on his new patient a couple of hours before. "Okay, so, Kurt, you have a case of Stage two Acute Leukaemia. Now this explains why your symptoms have only started to affect you in the last few weeks because Acute leukaemia's come on quicker than Chronic Leukaemia's and the symptoms appear often within days or weeks."

"What does the Stage two bit actually mean?" Kurt reluctantly asked. He wasn't sure he wanted to know but he knew he should know everything.

"Ah now Cancers are ranked from Stages 1 to 4 - One being the lowest and four being the highest. So the fact you're at Stage two is fairly encouraging at the moment, you know its not great, I'll be honest, but its not awful either. Now when it comes to treatment..."

"Stop!" Every ones heads turned to look straight at Finn who was sitting in a chair looking extremely distressed, his hands clutching his head as he stared at the glistening, immaculate floor beneath him. He promptly stood out of his chair, turned to stare out of the window before facing the room again, a tear rolling down each of his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Kurt, I just, I-this.."

"Finn its okay. Why don't you go get yourself a coffee yeah?" Kurt softly said. He knew he couldn't help it but a overwhelming wave of guilt rushed over him.

"Sweetie, do you want me to come with you?"

"No no mum you stay here. I just need to be by myself at the moment." As his shaking hand hovered above the doorknob, he turned around to face five worried faces staring straight at him. "Kurt, Im-Im so sorry..."

"Finn. Its okay. I'll just see you later alright."

Kurts eyes never left the doorway as Finn walked out, gently closing the door behind him.

"He'll be okay - he just needs a little time. I'll go talk to him later." Blaine whispered to Kurt as he kissed his shoulder. Kurt squeezed Blaines hand.

"I'm Sorry, I-I didn't mean to upset him."

"It's far from your fault Doctor." Carole assured him. "Erm, so you were talking about treatment?"

"Ah yes. Okay, well, many of our patients choose to undergo courses of Chemotherapy and Chemotherapy has proven to be extremely successful in several cases. Is that what you're planning to do Kurt?"

"I-um-I think so."

"Well you don't have to make a decision right this second but the sooner we know what you want to do, the sooner we can get started okay. Now I'll just talk to you about it so you can grasp an idea as to what Chemotherapy is like and I can give you some booklets with more detailed information later. So Chemotherapy is typically given in a series of sessions with each session being followed by a rest period. The aim of each session is to destroy as many of the cancer cells as possible and then the rest period, which is usually 3-4 weeks, allows the normal cells and tissues to recover. For the first few days of your rest period, you will feel very weak so avoid engaging in any activities, just concentrate on yourself and recovering. All you'll probably want to do for the first few days is sleep. Now as simple as it sounds at the moment, it does have its downfall. During Chemo, you will experience some side effects - It's difficult to predict what side effects you will personally experience because everyone reacts differently to treatment but some of the common side effects are fatigue, nausea and vomiting, possible hair loss, bruising and bleeding, your taste in food will alter and during chemotherapy, you will be extremely vulnerable to infection because your White Blood Cell count will be lower than usual so as well as getting better, your other one main job Kurt is to take good care of yourself. Now what we can do is administer you with a set of painkillers which wont get rid of the side effects, but it will definitely take the edge off of them. How are you feeling about it at the moment?"

Kurt glanced around the room, searching Burt, Carole and Blaine faces for an answer.

"Its your choice buddy - only you can decide what you want to do and we'll be here for you, whatever you decide." Carole nodded in Agreement.

"Blaine?" What-What do you think?"

Blaine felt like his heart was about to rip into two at the sight before him. Kurts eyes screamed the fact that he was scared and unsure about what he should do. Kurt looked at Blaine like he wanted his boyfriend to tell him everything was definately going to be okay and as if Blaine had all the answers to his questions and worries, but Blaine had no idea what to do, say or think either.

"Babe I-I think if this is what you want to do, then you should do it but like your dad said, only you can decide that, but just know that whatever you do decide to do, I will be right there with you, every single step of they way."

"Okay" Kurt whispered. "Doctor Rolstone, I-I think I'm gonna go with the Chemo."

"Are you sure?" Kurt nodded. "Okay, so where we'll go from here is I'll do a few blood tests to make sure your body is physically able to cope with the demands that Chemotherapy will bring to it so I'll do those today, keep you in overnight and as far as I'm concerned, I see no reason that you can't go home tomorrow and we can start treatment next week."

"Wow erm, yeah o-okay. Thank you Doctor."

"No problem Kurt. Remember, any questions, don't hesitate to ask. It was lovely to meet all of you."

The customary responses were made from the four people scattered around the room before the man in the white coat proceeded out of the room.

"I should probably go talk to Finn - make sure he's alright" Carole said, effectively breaking the silence in the room.

"No-no Carole let me. I need to talk to him about something anyway." Blaine said as he scooted off of the bed to stand beside it, still holding Kurts hand. Kurt smiled softly at him, knowing exactly what Blaine wanted to talk to him about. He mouthed "Thank you."

"Are you sure Blaine?"

"Absolutely positive." He reaffirmed. "Are you gonna be okay for a little bit?" Blaine whispered to Kurt.

"Yeah I'll be fine."

He gently squeezed Kurts hand and lifted it to place a soft kiss to his knuckles. "I'll be back as soon as possible okay." He then walked out of the doors and down the corridors that were becoming oh so familiar to him.

As Blaine walked around the cafeteria he'd been in just hours before, he found the person he had been looking for. Sitting in a tucked away corner, directly next to a full length window offering him a look at the dreary hospital grounds, was Finn.

"Coffee's horrible, isn't it?" Blaine remarked as he walked towards the teenager before taking a seat opposite him.

"Absolutely disgusting." Finn replied, still staring aimlessly out of the window. The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue morning sky - a definite contradiction to the mood of the two boys. "Dude Im-Im sorry about not staying earlier, it was just-god it was too much to handle."

"You don't have to apologize Finn, Kurt understands. We all understand."

"How-How was it?"

"Well he's decided to go ahead with the Chemotherapy which the Doctor seems to think is his best shot at the moment so I guess we'll just have to wait and see...How are you holding up?"

"I just-I can't believe this is actually happening. He's only just graduated High school...God Blaine, this, this is all just so...wrong. " Finn exasperated.

"I know." Blaine said, the words coming out an octave higher than a whisper.

"How are you doing man, I mean, this has gotta be totally rough on you too."

"Yeah I don't quite know to be honest - it's sunk in but it hasn't at the same time...if that makes sense? I'm a bit all over the place at the moment really but, you know, Kurt told me to hope so we just have to hold on to that."

"That boy is too selfless and caring, even at the worst of times."

"I already told him that." The two boys shared a little laugh between them before remembering they weren't really supposed to yet.

"Listen Finn, Kurt asked me if you and I could possibly tell the New Directions and The Warblers what's going on. He's just-he's not sure if he can tell them himself yet and I want to spare him any unnecessary upset or hurt."

"Oh..god yeah, I mean, yeah of course. Wow, I-I hadn't even thought about that."

"Neither had I to be honest until Kurt asked me this morning."

"Yeah. Listen, Blaine, I-I know you're not gonna want to leave so if you wanna just give me some of the Warblers numbers, I can call them and then you can stay here with Kurt."

"Are-Are you sure?"

"Yeah dude it's no problem. I mean, we all know each other pretty well now right, so its fine. Besides, as much as I want to be here for Kurt, I need to get out of this place. I really cant stand hospitals." He said with an air of disgust as his head glanced around the room,

"I know the feeling."

"You know, as horrible as this all is - at least Kurt has you, you know."

Blaine smiled affectionately at Finn. Blaine had become so close to the Hummel-Hudson family throughout his relationship with Kurt that Finn wasn't just a friend to Blaine - he was a brother. The two had challenged each other countless times on X-Box, spent many evenings together shouting furiously at the football games on TV and Blaine had even helped Finn practice his singing for upcoming competitions. Kurt had given Blaine love but he was also thankful that Kurt had given him a family.

"Right back at you buddy."

The two boys sat for a while longer, talking about inconsequential topics, before settling into a comfortable silence. Infinite thoughts ran through each of the boys minds but each and every single one of them related back to the young boy, 4 floors directly above them, in room 317.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope it was alrightt :O I actually found this chapter so hard to write! I knew what I wanted to happen in it and I had the basic scenarios written down but when it came to writing it into actual words - my mind went blank! I had to take like a 2 day break from it :L<strong>  
><strong>So im just gonna warn you guys now, I go back to College on the 6th (2 weeks today) so updates after then might be a bit delayed - not by much, dont worry! But because I'll be back to doing coursework and preparing for exams..i'm gonna be busy :( but what I'm aiming to do is write at least 3, if not more, chapters before I go back so that I wont fall behind in updating this because I love you guys too much :)<strong>  
><strong>Review, Review Revieww (a) This story needs reviews to keep goingg(L)<strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N - I AM SO SO SORRY! I literally am..I totally didn't mean to be gone for this long..i wanted this chapter up by the 1st Sept but it wasnt even finished by then so that plan failed :( i just got so busy in the last couple of weeks before college - most of which involved me spending like a whole week writing my Performing Arts essay which ended up being like 3000+ words only to then be called by my teacher the day after I finally finished it to tell me he has to cancel the course this year - week of my life WASTED and now i've had to go back to a subject I HATE just so I can still leave college with 3 a levels - I've had a bad week :L **

**So I am back at college now - fun times :| so I wish I could say I'll be better with my updates - I will try(a) but I'm really not making any promises :( I hadn't even been back 2 hours - yes, 2 hours :L before they'd already given me an essay to write on the biological explanations of Schizophrenia - like I care what they are :| but this story WILL NOT be abandoned..i've got so many plans for it :) I can just be sitting somewhere and a thought will come into my head for this story and I have to write it down before I forget and then I get really excited about writing it...I already wrote a rough guide of a scene I want to happen in chapter 9 - see I've planned that far ahead :L ;)**

**I wish I could say to you guys "This chapter is amazing! Best thing I've ever wrote - totally worth the wait" but im not gonna :L personally I'm a little disappointed with it and found it quite hard to write but it's what you guys think that matters to me at the end of the day :) **  
><strong>So I hope you enjoy it :)<strong>  
><strong>Btw - have you guys read any spoilers for the new series ;D oh my goshh it gets me so excited xD 10 dayss ;D<strong>  
><strong>ALSO another thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed - your all so,so lovely and supportive:) and a special shout out to 'BlaineIsAmazing' - Im sure your results were fine!:) And 'lessthanthreeredvines' - it was lovely talking to you:)<strong>

**Disclaimer - I don't own glee..Boo flipping hoo :'(**

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><p>Nothing had changed at the Hummel-Hudson house - the colour on the walls were still painted a calming, light blue, the sofa's resided in their rightful places, the pictures on the mantle hadn't changed nor had the frames moved an inch, the 'Vogue' magazine Kurt had been causally reading the morning before his second appointment still lay open at the page he'd been reading on the coffee table in the middle of the room. Nothing had changed, yet everything was so, so different.<p>

Despite being surrounded by the several familiar faces, everything to Finn was a blur. He felt like he was having an out of body experience - he could hardly remember actually managing to leave the hospital! As he sat forward in his chair, elbows pressed firmly into his kneecaps as he rested his thought laden head in his hands, he stared aimlessly at the floor beneath him, searching furiously for an appropriate way to begin a conversation that was surely going to affect the lives of the 16 people around him, all sitting impatiently in various spaces around the living room. Maybe he should have took Blaine up on his offer of doing this together - for moral support. How could he even begin to tell all of his closest friends that Kurt, their friend, _his_ friend, _his brother_, had cancer. How could he even begin to tell them that there was now a possibility that Kurt could die. How could he even begin a conversation like that? How does anyone begin a conversation like that? As he struggled to find the right words to say, he was completely oblivious to the various collection of words spilling from the mouths of the people around the room.

"I'd just like to say that it's a good thing we've graduated because if we were still in school, I would refuse to be sitting in the same room as the competition."

Quinn exasperated loudly as she rolled her eyes. Of course Rachel would say something like that - she never failed to do so before. "Rachel shut up! Have you not forgotten the fact that Puck was the one who sent Kurt to spy on the Warblers when_ they _were rehearsing for Sectionals once upon a time ago?"

"Exactly Rachel - We never spied on you and we never had the intention to." Thad commented from across the room.

"Whatever" Rachel muttered under her breath. "I'm just saying, IF we were still in School, I wouldn't be sitting here. We already had our set list leaked one year - who's to say it wouldn't happen again." She firmly folded her arms, as if to emphasise her point.

Quinn had had enough, but she had always had a short fuse when it came to Rachel Berry. Rachel didn't have to do much for Quinn to immediately get frustrated with her. "Rachel. Seriously! We don't go to School anymore. We are not a competing Glee Club anymore and they..." waving her finger in the direction of the five Warblers that sat at the side of the room, slightly speechless at the drama unfolding right in front of them "are certainly not our competition anymore, so just drop it, okay."

"And besides Rachel, who to say that we would even sit in the same room as _you_ too. Although we still don't appreciate the fact that you did spy on us when we were rehearsing, we can't really be mad -I guess we all have Puck to thank for bringing our two friends together." Wes affirmed proudly.

With a smug grin plastered over his face, Puck held out his hands a level above his shoulders as if to say _"__That's__ right everyone - shower me with compliments because I am more than ready to lap them up." _

"That's right, that's right. I am SINGLE HANDEDLY the matchmaker behind the relationship of Kurt and Blaine - all down to me I tell you - I am responsible for that beautiful relationship."

"Honey. Did you just say 'beautiful relationship'? Really?" Lauren looked at her boyfriend questiongly and in a state of surprise that Puck would even say something genuine like that - he didn't even refer to their relationship in such a heartfelt way.

"Alright I know I'm a badass and everything, but even I can see a cute relationship wherever there is one and those two definitely have one."

"Preach" Artie remarked as the fifteen heads nodded eagerly in agreement.

Puck turned his head to face Finn, who was still staring blankly at the floor, head still in his hands. He hadn't moved in inch.

"Dude was there an actual reason you called us all here cause there's a game on in like an hour."

"Yeah moobs can you hurry this up - Britt and I are going to the Stix...and I wants to get my stix on." Santana stated as she admired her fresh manicure. Noticing that Finn had yet to reply, she peeled her eyes away from her perfect nails and took in the sight before her. _He didn't even flinch when I called him Moobs - he always has something to say. Something must be wrong._

"Yeah Finn and I said I'd bring a breadstick home for Lord Tubbington so we need to go before they run out"

"Brittany, its called Breadsticks - they literally never run out. They've probably got like a whole room dedicated to breadsticks out the back where breadsticks are probably spilling out of the door!"

Mercedes laughed at Tina's useless attempt to explain this to Brittany, knowing full well the bubbly blonde probably still wouldn't understand. She then turned her attention to Finn. "White boy seriously spit it out. We're all here so why don't you...Hang on... Where is Kurt? And Blaine actually for that matter - Why aren't they here too?"

Everyone scanned the room in confusion. Even though they had been talking about the two boys just minutes earlier, no one had actually noticed that the boys in question weren't in the same room as them - they just assumed, that like normal, everyone was together.

"Th-That's actually what I called you all here to talk about" Finn mumbled.

"Oh what's wrong with lady lips and hobbit? Run out of their endless supply of hairspray and gel did they?"

Sprouts of laughter erupted around the room but Rachel's eyes never left Finn. Drinking in the sight of her withdrawn, distant boyfriend, laughter didn't seem like the appropriate thing to do.

"Santana shut up!" She snapped at the Hispanic girl, whose eyeballs widened at the sudden confrontation. Rachel walked from her previous position on the three seater sofa to crouch beside her boyfriend. She placed a gentle hand against his back. "Finn, sweetie what's wrong? You need to tell us."

He knew he needed to tell them and he was going to do right by his brother and respect his wishes and tell them. They needed to know - For their sake, just as much as Kurts. He took a deep breath before beginning. " Blaine's with Kurt right now. Kurt he - _oh god _he...he's in hospital."

The recent graduates looked at each other, all with furrowed eyebrows to reinforce their confusion at what Finn had just revealed to them. Mercedes was the first to break the silence.

"What the hell - what for! He was fine Wednesday - Wh-Why didn't he call me?"

"He's been a bit...preoccupied." - Was preoccupied even the right word? He couldn't exactly say to Mercedes _"Yeah Kurt's sorry he didn't call you - he's just been trying to accept the fact that he found out 24 hours ago that he has a life __threatening__ disease."_

"Pfft...Too preoccupied to call his best friend!"

"Just...let him finish." Wes quietly said to the distressed girl, holding a hand out, signalling her to stop talking. "Why's Kurt in the hospital Finn?" Wes calmly encouraged the boy to carry on.

Hearing the slight change in her boyfriends breathing, Rachel moved the hand she had against Finn's back to enclose his hand within her own, squeezing it tightly, attempting to silently give him the courage he needed.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He released the breath and opened his eyes. He lifted his head to face the room. This was it.

"Kurt, he...Kurt has Cancer."

Sixteen bodies instantly froze in their positions. Sixteen mouths dropped open. The sound of sixteen gasps flowed through the air.

"Well don't I feel like a bitch now." Santana muttered.

* * *

><p>The two boys lay silently on the bed, Kurt snuggled tightly in the familiar arms of his boyfriend, both of them silently mulling over the morning events. Despite their desperate attempts to stay and after countless utterances of "I'll be okay", "No I don't need anything Carole", "Yes I'm fine Dad", Kurt had finally managed to send Burt and Carole out of the room, desperately encouraging them to indulge themselves in a Coffee, expose themselves to the fresh air that awaited them outside the Hospital doors,<em> anything <em>- he just really wanted to spend some quality time with Blaine right now.

The two boy's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of three sharp knocks against the door.

"Kurt. Oh I'm sorry, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"It's fine Doctor Rolstone - We were just lying down."

The doctor softly smiled at the two boys who sat patiently on the bed, waiting to see what Doctor Rolstone had come in for.

"I just wanted to drop those Information Booklets off to you."

"Oh yes, Thank you." Kurt said as the Doctors hands suddenly became empty and Kurts hands now occupied. He looked down at his new pamphlets and he suddenly felt a wave of emotion overpower him.

"Now they should be able to provide you with all the information you need and hey, if in any case I wasn't doing my job properly, they might even tell you something that I missed earlier on"

The younger boy let out a slight nervous laugh at his doctor's attempt to lighten the mood but right there, right there in his hands, was information about the disease that could quite well kill him and the treatment that could just as well save him. It was all a bit too much.

Without even looking up to meet Doctor Rolstones eyes, Kurt replied "I-I. Thank you"- transfixed on the words in front of him.

"No problem. I alerted the nurses and they should be round in the next few hours to do your blood tests for you."

Not even a flinch, or even a blink of the eyes. He couldn't even concentrate on the vital information his Doctor was telling him - he just stared blankly at the large, bold titles of the two booklets he had been given minutes before - "Living With Cancer" and "Chemotherapy". Right there, at that moment, Kurt convinced himself that the words were worse than the actual thing itself.

Despite having three very full, heavy lever arch folders in his hands, Doctor Rolstone stood patiently at the end of the bed. Blaine looked intently at Kurt, trying to gauge if he was going to acknowledge the Doctors comment. Quickly realising that this was not going to happen any time soon, Blaine answered for his boyfriend "Thank you Doctor - we appreciate it."

Clearly sensing that something wasn't quite right, Doctor Rolstone decided to make a polite exit, leaving the two boys in privacy.

"No problem. I'll see you boys later on."

The Doctor and Blaine both slightly bowed their heads at each other - Blaine's being more a nod of appreciation, a silent 'thank you' at the Doctors decision to give the two boys some privacy. His hazel eyes flitted from the closing door to the younger boy who still sat staring aimlessly down at his lap.

"Kurt?" He started to gently rub the younger boys back in the slight chance it offered him even the tiniest bit of comfort. "Kurt? Baby are you okay?"

Kurt blinked widely, shaking himself out of the daze he had found himself in. "Ye-Yeah"

He wasn't convinced. He knew Kurt too well by now. "Kurt" Blaine pressed further.

Kurt promptly placed the booklets face down on the bedside table next to him. _'Out of sight, out of mind'_ he thought. "We don't have to talk about it right now" he whispered to his boyfriend. Blaine suddenly felt the sensation of Kurts hand wrapped around his arm, tugging it upwards, snuggling himself closer towards Blaine, his face comfortably tucked into the older boys chest.

Feeling Kurts body instantly relax at the sense of protection he felt when he was in Blaines arms, Blaine decided to drop the matter, not wanting to upset or distress his boyfriend in any way so he simply replied "Okay", accompanied with a small kiss to the younger boys forehead.

Kurt decided to change the subject to a happier matter - 'happy' was definitely something he was in need of at the moment.

"So I was speaking to Dad earlier when you were with Finn..." he started.

"Oh right...And?"

"What do you mean 'And?'" He playfully smacked Blaines chest. "Why didn't you tell me he asked you to move in!"

"I wanted to - I just wasn't sure when would be a good time to bring it up."

"Are you kidding? It always would have been a good time to bring it up if the result of the conversation was you and me living together."

"I know" Blaine said with a smile on his face. He still couldn't quite believe that he was going to officially be living with Kurt. Sure the circumstances weren't desirable but still, he was living with his boyfriend and that meant absolutely everything to him - It meant everything to both of them. "So you're okay about it yeah?"

"No" Kurt said. Blaines eyes furrowed in confusion as panic started to flow through his body. Kurt gave a slight laugh as he looked up at his boyfriends worried expression. Silencing his worries with a kiss, he further explained "I'm _ecstatic _about it!"

* * *

><p>The room was deadly silent.<p>

"Dude what do you mean Kurt has cancer?" Puck said the words everyone wanted to say - each of them not quite believing what they had just heard

"I mean...Kurt has cancer." The words coming out with more confidence. "He has Stage 2 Leukaemia - He found out yesterday."

"But...he..he can't. I mean he's fine. He was fine at Graduation. He was fine before that too!" The utterances gradually became more desperate as they left Mercedes mouth - like she was trying to convince herself this was all a lie. A horrible, sick, twisted lie but deep down, she knew. She knew this wasn't a lie. This was the horrible, sick, twisted truth. Her best friend had cancer. They all knew really - they just didn't want to believe.

"It can't have been." Quinn whispered as her thoughts were spoken aloud, nervously fiddling with her hands in her lap. Everyone directed their undivided attention to her.

"What can't have been?" Sam asked

"Kurt, I don't know, I mean, I thought it was nothing, I honestly did, but...I noticed he was a lot more tired recently but I didn't think much of it because we've all been so stressed recently. That wasn't a sign though, it-it can't have been...was it Finn?"

He slowly nodded.

"Oh my god" Quinn whispered.

"Did any of you guys notice the bruise on his left arm." Finn questioned.

"No"

"Nah "

"No"

"What bruise?"

"Yes" Tina sheepishly said quietly to herself but loud enough for everyone to notice the difference in her response towards the question.

Feeling thirty two eyes staring intently at her, she elaborated. "I mean when he hugged me after the ceremony his sleeve rolled up a little and I saw it. He just said it was a bruise of some sort though. He said it was nothing to worry about - that it was just a bruise."

"He didn't know at that moment though." Finn explained further. "The doctors say that bruising of the skin is common in patients who...who...you know" he hesitantly trailed off.

Silence filled the room once more as no one quite knew where to take the conversation next.

"Finn" Rachel whispered to Finn. He looked at her with glassed eyes. "What's going to happen now?"

"He um...His Doctor came in this morning to discuss options - I didn't stay…I-I couldn't but Blaine told me he decided to go with courses of Chemotherapy. That's all I know at the moment. I didn't really stick around long enough to find out much more - You know, that place is huge but I have never felt more claustrophobic in all my life."

"How is Blaine?" Trent asked. Many "Oh my god Blaine"s "How is he"s fluttered around the room. Everyone had been so caught up in talking about Kurt that they had forgot to ask about their other friend.

"Yeah man he um - he's holding up at the moment, you know, being strong for Kurt. Burt said he got here about 9:00 last night and he's hardly left his side since."

Several of the girls smiled sadly whilst the boys nodded their heads in appreciation at Blaines gesture of affection.

"So...When can we see him? I mean, can we see him?" Mercedes asked.

"I think he'd like that. I'm going back up there in an hour or so, so a few of you are welcome to come with me. I think he's coming home tomorrow, for those of you who don't get to see him today."

As the group of friends decided amongst them who wanted to see Kurt first, Finn sat there in a state of slight disbelief. He couldn't quite believe that he had just told his friends. He still couldn't believe that Kurt would be starting chemotherapy in a matter of days, he couldn't believe that Kurt had cancer, he couldn't and didn't want to believe that his brother...could die.

This was all so wrong.

* * *

><p>"So how much packing have you actually got left to do?" Kurt questioned.<p>

"That doesn't matter right now" Blaine simply replied. He wondered how Kurt could think that anything else was more important than him, especially such a tedious task as packing. "Its nothing that can't wait." he added.

"Blaine you need to finish it. Your school years practically over so the room needs to be cleared for the next lot of first years - even you know that."

"I'm not leaving you." Blaine said as if it was the simplest answer in the world to Kurts indirect question. "I don't want to."

Kurt sighed - he knew his boyfriend was hurting, heck, who knew how long he would be hurting for, this feeling wasn't going to disappear in a matter of days, which is why Kurt felt compelled to tell Blaine exactly what he thought.

"Baby look, I know this is difficult - I can't even begin to imagine how you must be feeling but the world is still spinning, the world is still out there and your life can't stop, okay. And besides, if I know you as well as know I do, I'm guessing you've managed to pack about 4 boxes full of stuff by now?"

"3 and a half" Blaine mumbled, the ashamed tone of his voice muffled by Kurts hair as his head rested comfortably on top of the younger boys.

A proud smile crept across Kurt's face because as usual, he had successfully proved his point. "Exactly. So go to Michigan, finish packing and I'll still be here when you get back. And besides, it'll be good for you to have a change in surroundings - you haven't left here since yesterday"

"Neither have you" Blaine quickly defended

"You idiot - I have no choice. _You_ do."

"But if I leave now, I wont be here for you when you go home tomorrow - It'll take me at least 2, maybe 3 days to finish packing."

"That's okay - Dad, Carole and Finn will still be here. Plus, that's even better in a way because then this way, I get to be the one to open the door for you and welcome you home." Kurt said as another smile appeared across his face, the vision of officially welcoming Blaine into _their_ home appearing in his imagination.

"God I love you." Blaine said as his thoughts suddenly held the same vision.

"I love you too."

As the two boys settled back into a comfortable silence for a short period of time , simply marvelling in each others company, they were pleasantly interrupted by the arrival of Finn, Rachel, Mercedes and Santana who all lingered at the doorway.

"Hey" Kurt exclaimed. "Oh my gosh it is so good to see some new faces! I was getting pretty tired of these two buffoons." Blaine and Finn both stared at the younger boy with an open mouthed expression at his nonchalant insult towards them. The girls and Kurt couldn't help but laugh at how hurt the two boys looked.

"We can come back later if you want" Rachel suggested, noticing the embrace that Kurt and Blaine had naturally settled themselves into.

"No don't be silly! I am in dire need of some girl time! Besides, Blaine was just leaving." Kurt said. Once again, Blaine sharply turned his head to look at his boyfriend, attempting to read his facial expression.

"I-I am?" he challenged.

"You're gonna go pack"

"You-You actually meant now?" He questioned further. They hadn't actually talked about when Blaine would actually go back up to Michigan to finish his packing - it was all hypothetical, 'if' being the key word when Blaine had said 'If I go now' - He hadn't actually thought Kurt would mean he should leave in the next half an hour after said conversation.

"No time like the present." Kurt remarked.

Blaine looked round the room in confusion. His eyes settled looked at his boyfriend and could see that Kurt was deadly serious. He was actually meant to be going? Like right now?

"Just to clarify, you actually want me to go...now?"

"I don't _want_ you to go, but you _need_ to go - there's a difference."

Blaine sighed in defeat - he knew he wouldn't be able to convince Kurt that he could stay even just an hour longer, so he shuffled off the bed and stood on his feet.

"It's alright ladies _and_ gentleman, apparently, according to a certain someone, I was just leaving anyway because like Mr Know-it-all says, I do still have a lot of packing to do."

The four bodies, who had shuffled out of the doorway and further into the room, couldn't help but laugh as they watched two of their closest friends playfully argue as if they were an old married couple - not 18 and 19 year old teenagers.

"Don't make me get out of this bed Blaine Anderson cause you know I will"

Blaine turned to wink at his boyfriend as he grabbed his Jacket from the chair in the corner of the room. He walked back over to his boyfriend to place a quick goodbye kiss to his lips. "I love you. Call me for _anything_ and I'll be back sometime Wednesday, okay?"

"Okay" Kurt whispered as his hand rested against Blaines cheek, holding the boy closer to him so that only the two of them could hear their moment of intimacy. "I love you and _please_, drive safe."

Blaine had always been a safe driver - not one speeding ticket, never stopped by the police and had certainly never caused an accident but he knew from countless stories on the news that driving whilst emotionally unstable or distracted by a personal event sometimes had severe consequences. He knew that Kurt was discreetly saying _"Don't let everything __that's__ happened distract your concentration when you should be focusing on the road."_

"I will. I promise" He simply replied. "3 days" He whispered.

"3 days" Kurt repeated. He smiled before sliding his hand from Blaines cheek to the back of his neck to bring him closer for another kiss. The two boys reluctantly pulled away and Blaine said goodbye to the others in the room before turning to walk away. Nearly out the room, he stopped and hovered by the doorway. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" he said as he turned to look back at his boyfriend one last time.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Look I will seriously get out of this bed and push you out the reception doors if I have to. Now _go_!"

"Okay, okay I'm going." He quickly said as he held his hands up in defeat. " 3 days" He called out as he walked out of the door.

"GOODBYE Blaine Warbler" Kurt shouted. He was seriously having to force his boyfriend out at this point but before he knew it, Blaine was gone and he instantly found himself wishing that the next three days would fly by.

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><p><strong>Sooo...? Dont hate me if you hated it :L<strong>  
><strong>I dont really like the ending for this chapter but in my defence, it wasnt actually meant to finish here :L - I had two more scenes planned for this chapter but it was already over 4000 words so I just decided to put them in Chapter 4 instead. The scenes I basically had planned were Blaine back in Michigan where Blaine has a heart to heart with David about Kurt and Kurt talking to the girls so they'll be in the next chapter along with Blaine moving in and the run up to Kurts chemotherapy treatment:)<strong>  
><strong>Reviews would make me smile and I need something to make me smile at the moment so review:) Review away my lovelys :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: You guys literally have no idea how bad I feel at how slow I am at updating this - Life is just so busy right now but like I said, I'm not abandoning this so can I just say a huge Thank You to all of you - I've read how some people get really nasty comments sometimes because they dont update quick enough so I'm really thankful to everyone who has this on their alert list that you didn't do that to me so thank you :)**

**I've figured out how I'm going to write this though because I started this story during the summer so I just used to write it whenever but now I'm back at College, its not that easy but I've found that during my breaks at college, when I'm not doing any work, I've got time to write this so a fair bit of this chapter was wrote in my Pukka Pad in my College Library - Fun fact for you ;P**

**So Of course, thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted and favourited - you literally make me so happy :) I've always thought that I could never write a story to save my life but you guys give me the reassurance that maybe I can so Thank you and i love you all(L)**

**So i got a really lovely review from 'battleofthebay89' and something they said made me really think. They said they found it interesting why I wrote that Santana went instead of someone like Artie or Tina etc and hopefully it would be explained so heres my explanation. To be honest, I spent a long time debabting who would go with Finn, Mercedes and Rachel. I thought people like Artie and Tina would be a bit too obvious, I wasn't quite sure how close people like Puck, Sam, Lauren etc would be to Kurt and I knew I didnt want The Warblers to go because I mostly associate them with Blaine and I always knew Blaine wouldnt be there so Santana was a bit of a random pick but it wasn't totally random because I love on the show, when we get to see her softer side and I thought that could be interesting to write about but then i thought of a little storyline for her in why she went which I'm actually quite proud of and really like so I hope when you guys read it, you'll like it too :) so thank you 'battleofthebay89' because without your comment, I might not have ever thought of the little scene/story in this :)**

**I quite like this chapter actually so I hope you do too :)**

**OH MY GOSH! Do you guys know whats happening on November 8th in the Klaine world..Oh goshh that is gonna be gooood!;)  
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**Disclaimer: I dont own Glee :/ my life would be beautiful if i did.**

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><p>Reluctantly, Blaine had to admit to himself that once again, Kurt Hummel was right - and if he really thought about it, it wasn't a complete surprise to find that it did feel extremely good to be out of the hospital, to be in a different setting other than being confined in the confinements of the dreary hospital walls - It even felt good to drive again! But there was one thing that didn't feel good and never did feel good to Blaine and that was being miles away from his boyfriend - especially now.<p>

The sun was beaming in the clear blue sky as Blaine arrived at the Michigan State University campus. As he pulled in to the car park, he had to take a moment to realize that it had only been two days since he was last here - it felt like it had been _years._ So much had happened in those two short days. So much had changed and Blaine himself had come back a changed person.

As he walked to his room, it suddenly dawned on him that David was still likely to be there. _How am I going to explain this one _he thought to himself. As soon as Burt had called him, Blaine had practically sprinted out of the room in a panic, only managing to answer David's "What's going on?" with a quick, splutter of a reply that sounded something like "I've gotta go". As he turned his key in the door and strolled into the room, it immediately became apparent that his best friend hadn't easily forgotten about his earlier great escape too.

"Ah! The prodigal son returns!" he dramatically announced so loudly, the whole block of dorms most likely heard the announcement.

Blaine shook his head in jest.

"Hey man"

"And coherent utterances too! Because you know, after last time, I wasn't quite sure."

"Shut up" Blaine managed to say as he laughed at Davids antics before embracing him into a bromance - like hug. He knew he was flustered when he left on Friday but David was making it out into something completely different.

"So, are you going to tell me what caused you to run out of here quicker than me at the sight of free food." Blaine couldn't help but laugh because David was probably the most laziest, slow moving person he knew but when he saw free food - boy could he move! "I was going to ring you but as soon as I got to your name, my phone died and I've kind of...lost my charger" he trailed off. Blaine raised his eyebrows, not surprised by this_ at all. _"Scattiness" David simply said with a shrug. "What're you gonna do with me. It kind of explains why Jenna came round last night shouting the odds, saying how I kept ignoring her texts and calls - OH MY GOD I need to tell you how that one went down but yeah, I mean you got that phone call from Kurt so I put my earphones in cause I didn't want to listen to you two being all lovey dovey and then the next thing I knew, you were halfway out the door."

"Oh" Blaine said. "Yeah the-_the_ phone call..." He started to scratch at the back of his head as he remembered that one phone call - where it all started.

Davids voice soon brought him out of his daze. "Blaine? Blaine? Dude are you okay?"

"Listen I...I need to tell you something" Blaine said as he walked over to his bed.

"Oh my god are-Blaine, are you breaking up with me?" David mock offendly said with a hand over his heart to make the sentence even more dramatic and ridiculous.

"Shut up you idiot" Blaine laughed as he patted the space next to him on the bed which was soon occupied by his best friend.

"Okay." he began. "Wow, where to start?" he said quietly to himself but obviously not quiet enough.

"Well, Julie Andrews always said that you should start at the very beginning because that's a very good place to start." David suggested.

"Did you seriously just quote 'The Sound of Music'? Really?" Blaine said in an amused expression to which David shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. So you know the - the phone call?"

"Yeah."

"Well it...it wasn't Kurt that rung me - it was Burt."

"Burt?" Davids eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Wha-why would he be ringing you? You and Kurt are alright aren't you?"

"Yeah of course we are you doofus. He...urm...this is where it gets tough" he whispered. David nodded - a silent "go on" of encouragement. "He told me to go back to Lima and that when I got there, I should go to the hospital."

"Hospital? What? Who-oh my god was-was it Kurt?"

"Yeah" Blaine said. Davids face screwed up even more in confusion. "That isn't even half of it" Blaine said in response. "So I get there and Burt takes me into this family room, saying how I needed to know before I saw Kurt."

"Know what?" David cautiously said.

Blaine took a deep breath. "That urm - that Kurt...has cancer."

Davids eyes widened as the room fell silent. As much as Kurt was Blaines boyfriend, Kurt was also Davids friend. They had been to school together for almost a year and had grown extremely close in that time. David was often the person who Kurt would bitch to if he and Blaine had just had an argument and Blaine would just talk to David about anything that involved his relationship with Kurt. They had all joked many times that David should be their own personal relationship consultant to which he always flat out refused claiming "I can barely keep my own relationships going, let alone you two's."

"I'm...I'm Sorry - what?" he whispered

"He um - he has Leukaemia." Blaine continued. "It's stage two at the moment but his doctor seems hopeful, but...I don't know."

After a few moments, without warning, David pulled Blaine into a consoling hug to which Blaine welcomed.

"I-I don't know what to say" David solemnly admitted as he rested his chin on Blaines shoulder.

"I know. It's okay."

"Can I just ask you one question?"

"Of course"

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" David asked.

Blaine laughed as he pulled away to face his friend. "Kurt he um, he practically kicked me out of the hospital saying that I needed to finish packing."

"Well...hate to give it to him but, he has a point" David said as he looked around the room, Blaines half packed boxes scattered on the floor on his side of the room.

"You're not helping." Blaine simply said. "And your a fine one to talk" Blaine said as he looked around the room at David's side where it was obvious that David had made no attempt to pack. "Pot, have you met kettle?" He quipped.

David scoffed. "Come on, I'll give you a hand - the quicker you get it done, the quicker you can go back to Lima. Besides, we both know that what Kurt wants, Kurt gets."

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><p>"Okay, come on then, what gossip have you got for me? Anyone shacked up in the last couple of days? Mercedes - have you and Sam got your acts together yet?" Kurt cheerfully said attempting to hide any trace of sadness he was currently feeling, about Blaine being gone, about still being in the Hospital, about everything.<p>

"Kurt" Mercedes pleaded quietly. He stared at the three girls at the side of his bed who all looked pitifully at him.

"Oh please don't start acting weird around me" he said but their facial expressions remained the same. He knew they wouldn't simply just drop something as big as this so begrudgingly, he waved his hand for them to sit around the bed. Mercedes and Rachel sat either side of him, clasping each of his hands in their own. Santana resided next to Mercedes whilst Finn stood at the end of the bed.

"Okay" Kurt started before taking a deep breath. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well how are _you_ for starters?" Rachel said as if it was the most obvious question ever to have been asked.

"Erm...I'm - I'm okay...I guess? As good as can be at the moment anyway" he smiled sadly at them. As he looked intently at each of his friends, he noticed a single tear trickle down Mercedes cheek.

"Hey" he whispered as he squeezed her hand. "It's going to be okay" he said to assure her as much as himself.

"Kurt I...I-I'm just - I'm so scared" she whispered. Although there were three other people in the room who could still quite clearly hear the whispered conversions, this was clearly a conversation only meant for the two best friends.

"I know. Me too." Kurt said honestly. "But I promise you, as long as I'm alive and Marc Jacobs is still designing clothes, I will fight this with _everything_ I have. Since when have you ever seen Kurt Hummel give up on anything hmm?" he nudged their entwined hands as he smiled at Mercedes, her worries slowly subsiding.

"I love you"

"I love you too boo" he said.

So um, what did - what did the Doctor say this morning?" Rachel asked.

"Ah, do you want the short version or the long version" he quipped. "Well, he basically said that I have what they call Acute Leukaemia which is why this has all happened so quickly because it develops in days or weeks and its stage two at the moment which isn't good but its not bad at the same time and then overall, I start Chemotherapy treatments next week on Friday."

They all sat in silence as they processed what they had just heard.

"The end!" Kurt proclaimed in a hopeful attempt to break the silence but consequently failed. "Come on guys, I know you're scared but right now, I need your positivity - not your pity. That's what's going to help me right now. Especially as Blaines not back until Wednesday."

"How is Blaine?" Mercedes queried.

Kurts face always lit up when he talked about his boyfriend and despite the circumstances, this was no exception. "He's okay - at least, that's how he's acting with me but truthfully, I'm not too sure actually - I know he's trying to be strong for me and I'm being strong for him too, you know. He's been so amazing you guys - I'm not even exaggerating when I say he's been my rock these past couple of days. He's hardly left my side." Kurt suddenly felt a wave of sadness come over him as he realised that by his side was the one place Blaine wasn't at this very moment. Although the last part of his comment made him slightly sad, it was met by three warm smiles.

"San? You okay?" Kurt asked as he noticed her distant expression.

"Yeah. Yeah of course." She quickly replied but Kurt eyed her with suspicion. "I'm - I'm going to go get a drink from the shop - can I get you anything?"

"Yeah actually now that you mention it, can you get me some Tropicana please - I have had it up to here with water."

"Sure. I'll be right back." She said before she was out of the door seconds later. Finn sensed Santanas eagerness to get out of the room - he knew the feeling all to well - he had done it himself hours earlier.

As Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel carried on engaging in their conversation about Blaine to which Kurt gladly welcomed, Finn excused himself with the lame excuse of "I'm going to let you guys catch up."

As he walked around the hospital in search of Santana, he soon found her standing against the wall adjoining to the shop, one leg resting on the wall and one on the floor. She clutched the two drinks in her hands whilst her arms remained folded across her chest. As Finn got closer, he noticed her tear stained cheeks.

"Have - have you been crying?"

She straightened herself up and wiped her eyes, attempting to hide her sadness.

"What do you want gigantor?" she sniffed.

"You're not the first person to run out of that room today you know." She smiled sheepishly at him, as if to say 'sorry'. "You okay?"

"Urgh, not really" she said truthfully.

Ever since their Junior year when Santana, although for her own personal gain, created a way for Kurt to transfer back to McKinley, the two had grown extremely close. By their Senior year, they considered each other as one of each others closest friends. Kurt was the one person who supported Santana and helped her to be truthful about who she was to herself as well as to other people. Santana was pretty sure that if it hadn't been or Kurt, her and Brittany would not be together today and so she was forever grateful to him.

"It um - It just brings it all back, you know." Finn tilted his head. "My - my Granddad had cancer when I was 13 and he - he died in this very hospital." Finn slowly realised the reasons for her behaviour - it was all to familiar for Santana. "I mean it was sad, of course it was, but he was 73 - he'd lived his life and he'd lived a good one - Kurt's 18, Finn. I've watched what cancer can do to a person, how it can just ruthlessly eat them up inside, but I never,_ never _once thought that I'd have to watch one of my closest friends, someone I love, someone so...so _young _go through it."

Finn didn't quite know what to say. "You - you know Kurt's not going to give up. He's not gonna let this beat him, okay?"

"Cancer's not just like having a cold Finn - you don't just take some tablets, sleep it off and it goes away in a couple of days. This - it's...it's strong. Too strong for some people to handle. No matter how strong they normally are."

"I know. But one thing I know about Kurt and that I am completely sure of above everything else, is that he is not a quitter. The best we can do is just be there for him." He took one of the drinks from her hands so he could replace the beverage for his hand.

"It makes me feel guilty too, you know. All the times I was horrible to him...I...it all just seems pointless and so stupid now and..."

"You couldn't have known Santana. None of us could. Besides, as much of a bitch you can be at times - you know we wouldn't have you any other way."

Without hesitation, they embraced each other into a hug. The two who once before, never got along, now saw each other in a different light after having probably the most heartfelt conversation they had ever had.

"We've been gone ages." Santana commented as they pulled away.

"Well we'll just say there was a long queue." She nodded with a smile. "Come on." Finn said as the two walked along the corridors and back to Kurt.

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><p>Blaine and David manoeuvred expertly around the room as they carried on packing Blaines personal belongings into the countless marked boxes around the room. Not a single word had been spoken for a few hours but the two boys were okay with that. David didn't want to pressure Blaine into talking about Kurt and Blaine understood that David would need time to fully process the devastating news - they respected and knew each other well enough to know when nothing needed to be said.<p>

It was nearing six o'clock before they mutually decided to retire for the night. David returned from the kitchen clasping two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands - a well deserved reward after a fairly busy days work.

"You read my mind" Blaine exclaimed as he eyed the two mugs in Davids hands.

"You underestimate me sometimes" David said as he perched himself next to Blaine on his bed, simultaneously handing him a mug. Blaine inhaled the wondrous scent that was drifting out of the mug.

"It's so good to smell real coffee again" he said before taking a sip. "Mmm, to taste it too."

David gave a slight chuckle in acknowledgement. he took a sip of coffee before protectively clasping his hands around it and holding it in the lap of his crossed legs.

"So...urm, do-do you want to...maybe...talk about it?" he slowly asked" I mean you don't have to if you don't want to, I completely understand." he quickly defended.

"it's okay" Blaine said. "Talking about it won't make any of this less real so it-its fine"

David gave Blaine a slight smile. "So...urm...is - is Kurt going to ha-have Chemo?" he asked as he stared downwards, not wanting to meet Blaines gaze. He heard his best friend exhale.

"Yeah he-he starts next week." he simply replied.

"And what happens if-if that doesn't..." he trailed off as he realised his own thoughts and worries were suddenly not private anymore. The words came spilling out before he could stop himself. He didn't want Blaine to have to think about what could happen if the chemotherapy didn't work.

With all of his heart, Blaine wanted to say "it will work" but he knew that unfortunately, that wasn't a guarantee.

"I don't know" he whispered instead.

The two boys settled into a silence before David spoke again.

"How are you? I mean I'm-I'm so stupid, I didn't even ask you earlier." Davids worried stricken eyes made Blaines heart break. His best friend was usually so confident, loud and eccentric.

"I-I don't even know - Terrified, depressed, in denial at some points, just...everything. I mean, what are you supposed to - how are you supposed to, especially Kurt, how are you supposed to deal with something like this? I mean, is there a right way? It just feels like in seconds, your whole life changes and your outlook on life changes too - everything you thought you knew...suddenly you're not so sure and little daily worries just suddenly become so pivotal." He took a deep breath to recompose himself. He could feel the tears relentlessly pushing their way into the forefront of his eyes. "This is all just so...wrong. Why him Dave? Out of everyone in the world, all the bad people who do shitty things every single day of their lives and don't think twice about it, why Kurt? Why my innocent, beautiful, kind 18 year old boyfriend. 18 David. He's 18 - his life has barely begun and now someone's telling me that it could end if he doesn't get better."

David could tell that Blaine was becoming more hysterical as his breathing became more strangled and tear after tear glided down his cheeks. David took both of their mugs, placed them carefully on the floor and pulled Blaine into a consoling hug. He buried his face into Blaines shoulder as Blaine repeated the action. Whilst rubbing his back, David could feel his best friends unsteady breathing as his body jerked up and down in an attempt to calm himself but David knew this was exactly what he needed.

"Just let it all out." He whispered. "Let it out."

"I-I can't lose him David, I-I just can't" Blaine said through his tears causing David to hug him tighter.

The two remained like that for several minutes. Slowly, Blaine started to come down from his hysteria and started to calm down. As he pulled away, he brushed the remaining unshed tears from his already red, puffy eyes.

"That's the first time I've cried." he revealed " Like, _really_ cried."

"You needed it." David simply said "Holding in everything just makes everything harder. Everyone needs a good cry at some point and you my friend, are most certainly entitled to one at this minute."

"I've cried once and that was in front of Kurt, when I found out, but I-I don't want to cry in front of him - I don't want him to have the burden of carrying my pain as well as his own...that's the last thing he needs right now."

"Blaine, I think the last thing this is, is a burden - and I know Kurt would agree with me. You two have always been totally honest with each other, and you shouldn't stop now, especially now."

"Thank you" Blaine whispered.

David shrugged his shoulders. "It's what friends are for." he said. "I'm going to go order us a pizza - Pepperoni?" David implied, knowing that as that was Blaines favourite pizza topping, the answer would be a resounding yes.

Blaine gave a slight laugh under his breath as he carried on wiping the tears from his eyes. He looked up at David. "with extra cheese" he added.

"Done and done" David said before walking out of the room.

Blaine had never loved David more than he did in this moment in time. He had helped him pack, listened to him, comforted him, reassured him and was now buying his favourite meal in an attempt to cheer him up. He was now and forever would be, grateful towards his best friend. As he sat alone in the room, he thought about Kurt. What was he doing? Was he okay? How had his day been? Blaine knew he loved Kurt more than anything in the world and didn't doubt for one second that he probably couldn't live without him. It was in that moment however that he realised, that he knew didn't and wouldn't ever want to.

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><p>The next few days were busily filled with hectic packing and meticulous cleaning. These tasks kept the two boys so busy that Wednesday had arrived quicker than they realised. As David helped Blaine carry out the last of his boxes to the car, Blaine hugged him, thanking him again for all of his support in the past few days and promised to meet up with him soon.<p>

As Blaine began the long journey back to Lima, Ohio, all of his thoughts were centred around Kurt and it seems Kurt was just as eager to see his boyfriend too because as soon his boyfriends black Dodge Caliber pulled into the driveway of the Hummel-Hudson household, Kurt bounced out of his chair and ran to the door. Blaine hadn't even put on the handbrake before he noticed Kurt, standing eagerly in the doorway with a beaming smile - a smile that was reserved only for him.

"Honey, I'm home" Blaine quipped as he walked towards Kurt.

"You are indeed Mr Anderson" Kurt replied before truly welcoming him home with a kiss the two had both equally been longing for after been deprived of any for three long days. As they pulled away and brought their foreheads together, The two of them couldn't help the natural smiles plastered across their faces as Kurt repeated "you are indeed."

The two boys spent the Wednesday and Thursday unpacking Blaines boxes into Kurts bedroom. Although Kurts bedroom was now 'his bedroom' too, he still daren't unpack a thing until he double checked with Kurt of it's rightful residing place. His boyfriend was very particular.

After countless times of joining the Hummel-Hudson's for dinners, Blaine couldn't help but realise how different it all felt now. He wasn't just sitting at the dinner table as Kurts boyfriend and as a guest in the house - he was sitting there as one of them. He truly now felt a part of the Hummel-Hudson family.

As Burt and Finn hurriedly excused themselves from any cleaning duties, claiming "there's a game on" and Carole cleared away the plates and started to load the dishwasher, Blaine and Kurt strolled out of the dining room, hand in hand and out into the back garden. The night sky was overwhelmed as it was illuminated with thousands of glistening stars and the luminous crescent shaped moon. Blaine and Kurt sat under a tree situated in the back garden. They leaned against the bark and Kurt buried himself into Blaine as Blaine wrapped an arm around his shoulders. They gazed into the sky in awe.

"It's so beautiful" Kurt commented

"Just like you."

"Dork."

"You know you love it" Blaine defended.

"Nope. But I do love you" Kurt sincerely said.

"I guess the feelings mutual." Blaine remarked before leaning down to place a gentle kiss to Kurts lips.

"This time last week, I had just graduated High school and had a whole future ahead of me to look forward to but now, tomorrow I start my first round of chemotherapy treatments. Great week huh?"

"You still have a future ahead of you." Blaine said in his attempt to comfort Kurt

Kurt scoffed "Yeah, a future filled with vomiting, tiredness, hair loss and everything else imaginable."

"Well whatever happens, I will be right by your side throughout it. I promise."

"I'm scared" Kurt whispered.

"I know. Me too."

"Do you know anyone who's had chemotherapy before?" Kurt asked as he looked up at his boyfriend.

Blaine froze and was hesitant to answer._ Should I answer_? He thought. Blaine didn't want to worry Kurt but he certainly didn't want to lie and as David reminded him days earlier, they had always been honest with each other. Kurt picked up on his hesitation.

"Blaine? You do don't you?" he asked.

Blaine had wanted to avoid this conversation with Kurt because he didn't want one persons experience, out of millions of peoples who had chemotherapy and were perfectly fine, to affect his boyfriends view of his own treatments, but Kurt was persistent and Blaine knew he wouldn't easily drop the subject.

"My Granddad had it when I was 11."

"You don't have a Granddad" Kurt thought aloud but then he realised from a previous discussion the two boys had shared before. "Oh, he-he's the one who died isn't he, when you were 12?"

"Yeah" Blaine whispered.

Blaine noticed that at the moment, Kurt stopped talking. He avoided looking at Blaine and started to twiddle nervously with his fingers. This was why he wanted to avoid this conversation. Blaine took one of his hands and used brought his other hand to Kurts chin so that his hazel eyes were looking intently into his boyfriends blue eyes.

"You are so much stronger than he was though Kurt. Your younger meaning your body is much stronger than he was and his cancer was further along. And you have to remember babe, he had stage four Pancreatic Cancer and even the doctors will tell you that with that cancer, there's not much hope."

"Its just scary, you know. The doctors will tell you about the success stories, but they don't ever tell you about the people who aren't fortunate enough to make it"

"Then don't think about either of them." Blaine said. "Everyone will react differently to the treatment and yeah, some people aren't lucky enough to survive, but that doesn't, not for one second, mean that that's going to happen to you too. And I won't let it happen to you. You just have focus on yourself because you are all that matters in all of this."

"You always know what to say" Kurt smiled at Blaine.

Blaine pressed a kiss to Kurts forehead and rested his cheek on top of Kurts head. They sat outside for hours, without a care in the world because in that moment, they had each other and that was all that mattered, and they were going to face this, together.

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><p><strong>Sooo...?<strong>

**I really hope you guys liked this and it made up for my serious lack of updating which im still so, so sorry about :( And now that i've posted this, Im off to watch one of the four films I have to watch and analyse before tommorow for my film studies coursework - wish me luck :|**

**As much as alerts and favourites make me smile, Reviews make me smile too so review away my lovelys:) I look forward to reading what you thought :)(L)**


	6. Chapter 5

**I just wouldnt even be surprised anymore if you guys hated me for how slow I am at updating - I hate myself for it so I wouldnt blame you :L But seriously, Thank you so much for being patient and for sticking with me while I go through the hecticness that is my life at the moment. College has been an actual pain these past few weeks - I had so much coursework to do, I was up until 2am nearly every night and I fell asleep on my sofa with my laptop with my work still loaded up too many times to even count. But the majority of its all over now - for now anyway :L So i actually have free time again :)**

**So as per usual because i will never stop thanking you guys, Thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed - You all make the stressful tapping of the keyboard and writers block so worth it :) And 'battleofthebay89' - Jeez thank you SO MUCH for your review! That was such a lovely thing to read when I came home for my break on Thursday :) As i was driving back to College i still couldnt stop smiling so thank youu:)**

**So I thought I'd share something personal with you guys. The day after i posted Chapter 4, so it was Monday 3rd October, I found out that one of my friends, a boy in my year group from High School died in Hospital. He'd only turned 18 on the 29th September aswell. He had Myeloid Leukaemia and he was diagnosed with it when we were in Year 8 so we were like 13/14 and he went into remission but when we were in Year 10, it came back and he had a bone marrow transpant that was successful but then he developed Kidney failure and thats what he died of. I was literally in shock when i found out, I was shaking, I could barely talk, I even cried and i think the worst part of it all was I knew this boy, he was my age and I'd spent time with him - he wasn't just a face in the crowd. He was in my GCSE drama class and for a few lessons, we were partnered together to learn a dance together and I've never been so grateful because now i can say that I have a particular memory with him. Ashleys story has a few resembaelances to this story though which now makes this story have more meaning to me and now it's like as I'm writing this, I can't stop thinking about how he mustve felt through everything. **

**Sorry for the depressing story but I thought it was pretty relevant to this and so I thought I would share it. **

**Onto a happier note, I recently made a Tumblr xD well about 3/4 weeks ago now so if you want to get to know me a little better or talk to me or anything xD, My link is in my profile :) appreciate the username ahaa :L  
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**So lets just get on with the story now yeah - I'll stop babbling on...enjoyy :)**

**Disclaimer - I dont own Glee :/**

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><p>If she hadn't had known any better, Carole would not have been surprised to find strenuous weights hanging tightly onto the end of her eyelids as she periodically found herself drifting into light sleeps. The past week had certainly taken it's toll on not only Kurt, but the whole family and Carole was to say the least, absolutely exhausted. As she started to drift back into a light slumber, her head slowly drooping downwards as the paperback book started to lose its tight grip within her hands, she decided it was probably time to go to bed. As she straightened up the front room and gathered her things together, preparing to plunge the room into darkness for the night, it dawned on her that Kurt and Blaine had yet to emerge from the garden. Although she had 'rested her eyes' several times, Carole was absolutely positive she would've heard the heavy footsteps of the two boys walking through the front room to go upstairs. She furiously rubbed her bleary eyes as she walked through the kitchen and into the back garden. As she stepped out into the mild night time atmosphere, the sight before her pulled at her heart strings. Kurt and Blaine hadn't moved from earlier that night and were still sitting comfortably against the tree trunk. Kurt had his face nuzzled into Blaines chest, one hand clutching tightly onto Blaines shirt and the other extended across his boyfriends stomach. Blaine still had one arm around Kurts shoulder as he rested his cheek on top of Kurts head. The small smiles tugging on their lips reinforced how content the two boys were with exactly how they were. Of course, Carole was worried that Kurt would need a good nights sleep in preparation for the daunting day ahead of him but watching him snuggled tightly into Blaines protective arms, she realised that there was no better place for him to get a good sleep than where he was right now. They didn't need to be disturbed.<p>

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><p>The warm, orange glow of the morning sky seeped into Kurts eye line as his eyes slowly squinted open. He sat up slowly and blinked his eyelids tightly as he looked around his surroundings in confusion. He couldn't remember falling asleep last night. He turned his head to find Blaine leaning against the bark, his head leaning towards his shoulder, his chest heaving smoothly up and down and his mouth slightly parted and to Kurt, he was beautiful. He shuffled backwards to press his body closer into Blaines. He softly started to run his fingers gently up and down Blaines chest as he pressed a gentle kiss to his boyfriends shoulder blade.<p>

"Blaine. Blaine" he whispered.

"Mmm inaminute" Blaine groaned

"Baby wake up."

Blaines hazel irises started to make an appearance as he slowly opened his eyes to see Kurt beaming up at him.

"Hey" he whispered as he cleared the sleep from his throat.

"We fell asleep outside" Kurt said as a soft disbelieving giggle escaped his lips.

His hazel eyes widened as he looked round in bewilderment. "Oh - oh my god wha-how? How did no one notice?"

"I somehow think that they already know that we're out here" Kurt said as he tugged at the soft blanket that lay against Blaines lap.

"Oh" Blaine said as he looked down to find the soft, brown blanket strewn across him.

The two boys looked at each other. As if they had read each others thoughts, in perfect synchronisation, they both exclaimed "Carole", Blaine promptly adding "I knew there was a reason I loved that woman."

"Mmm - She is pretty amazing isn't she?" Kurt said as he leaned into Blaines side and gently tugged at his arm, bringing it back to its rightful place around his shoulders.

"Yeah" Blaine agreed. "Big day for you babe."

Kurt sighed. "Yeah"

"How're you feeling?"

"Nervous but not at the same time." Blaine looked down and tilted his head. He waited silently for Kurt to elaborate. "I'm nervous because, you know, obviously it's scary and intimidating and any other synonym you can think of but I feel okay because I know that you're gonna be there with me."

"Nothing could keep me away" Blaine leaned forward to capture Kurts lips with his.

"I know. And I love you for it." Kurt said as he cupped Blaines cheek in his hand, stroking his cheekbone with the side of his thumb.

Blaine smiled affectionately at him. "Do you not wanna go inside?" Knowing that Kurt was definitely not an outdoors person, he was extremely surprised that Kurt hadn't dashed the two of them indoors the minute he realised they were still outside.

Kurt slowly shook his head. "I'm not in any hurry right now - I kind of just wanna stay out here a little longer." he admitted. "Besides, I've always been asleep during a sunrise so I think I'll take this opportunity while I have it." he pondered.

"I remember the first time I ever watched a sunrise." Blaine started. He was mostly reminiscing to himself as he gazed at the sky but he felt the slight shift as Kurt tilted himself further into his arms and so knowing that Kurt had heard him, he happily shared his story. "I was fifteen and I was back in my room at Dalton. It was the morning after I had come out to my parents. I'd gone back for a family dinner and I'd just decided I'd had enough - I didn't want to hide who I was from my own family any longer. So I decided to tell them. Obviously it didn't go the way I had imagined in my head. I - I didn't sleep well that night - I just kept tossing and turning. All I could hear was dads piercing words, the sound of the cutlery clanging against the table as his hand kept slapping down against it and mums crying - it just - It felt like a nightmare that I _couldn't _wake up from, that would never end. In the end I just...got out of bed and I sat at my window and I sat there for so long that eventually the sunrise started to occur and its funny but just for a few moments...I forgot about everything that had happened the night before - I got so lost and entranced in the warm beauty, the tranquillity of it that all the bad stuff just...slipped away...just for a while and I guess, in a way, I was able to...forget. "

Kurt didn't quite know what to say. He obviously knew that Blaines parents were not accepting of their sons choices but Kurt never forced Blaine to talk about it. He always wanted Blaine to only talk about 'that' on his terms - whenever he felt comfortably enough to discuss it. "Thank you for telling me" he settled on.

"Thank you for being with me Kurt"

"Thank you for being with me too. I know I'm a lot to put up with sometimes" Kurt teased

"Hmm, well, _that_ I won't disagree with" Blaine said in the most serious tone he could muster without laughing.

His answer was rewarded with a playful slap against his chest. "Oi" Kurt whined. "That's the part where you're supposed to say "You're perfect Kurt, I wouldn't change anything about you Kurt, I love you so much, blah blah"

Blaine laughed softly, shaking his head slightly. "Well you _are_ a lot to put up with. I mean I've never met anyone who can spend two hours in one shop and not walking out with anything." He heard Kurt laugh breathlessly. He removed his arm from around Kurts shoulders to take Kurts face into both of his hands. He looked at him with so much sincerity. "But I would never, _ever_ change anything about you, not one single thing, because to me, you are perfect."

Kurt nodded his head in appreciation with a goofy grin tugging at his lips. "That's better." He said with a wink. As they shuffled back into their original positions, after a few moments, Kurt said "And just so you know - Ditto Mr Anderson"

* * *

><p>Eventually, the two boys made their way back into the house. As it was nearing 8:00, Kurt knew that his Dad and Carole were most likely to be awake by now, however no one had made their way downstairs yet and so Kurt decided to make breakfast for everyone. Knowing that Blaines cooking knowledge stretched as far as making Baked Beans on Toast and shoving a Pizza in the oven for ten minutes and even then, something nearly always managed to get burnt in the process whether it be the food or any part of Blaines body, Kurt gave him the simple task of setting the table. As Blaine finished placing the five plates around the table and started to lay out the cutlery alongside them, he realised the sound of the whisk loudly hitting the sides of the mixing bowl had ceased to exist. He lifted his head to catch Kurts eyes, who hadn't stopped watching Blaine for a good couple of minutes now. Their blissful smiles were enough to light up the room. There was something so...domestic about this that the two of them equally loved and could easily see themselves doing, with each other, every morning, for the rest of their lives.<p>

As Kurt was expertly flipping a batch of pancakes at the cooker and Blaine was carrying a carton of Orange Juice and jug of Coffee to the table, Burt chose this moment to shuffle down the stairs, Carole following closely behind.

"Got out of doing all the hard work did you Kid?" Burt teased as he eyed Blaine placing the drinks down on the table."

"I just gave him the easier lot of the 'hard work' to do" Kurt quipped from his position at the cooker as he kept a watchful eye over the Breakfast "I mean, he did set a beautiful table." he said as he motioned to the table Blaine had set out. The knives and forks were perfectly aligned next to the plates, the kitchen roll folded into neat triangles underneath the forks and the glasses placed on top of the coasters.

"I'll have you know Burt, that because of _your_ son, I was positively banned from all tasks involving helping to make breakfast or generally just being in the kitchen."

Kurt had just placed a batch of cooked pancakes into the oven to keep warm as he poured more mixture into the frying pan. "He just gets to sit there and look pretty" he said without peeling his eyes away from the task at hand.

"Are you sure he can even do that?" Burt playfully rubbed Blaines shoulder as he shuffled further into the kitchen to see if he could get any sneak peaks at the Breakfast whose delicious aroma relentlessly travelled up his nostrils.

"Burt, honey" Carole said as she moved to sit at the table. Before she sat down next to Blaine, she pressed a kiss into his bed of brown curls and placed a hand over his as she lowered herself onto the seat. "Good morning sweetie" she said as if Blaine was one of her own children. Blaine couldn't help the smile that grew even wider on his face at this affection which he happily returned.

"It's alright Dad, I think he's got that one down." Kurt said before peering over his shoulder to flash a cheeky smile at his boyfriend.

Turning his attention back to the banter he was receiving from both Kurt and Burt, he replied "Gee, Thanks honey." The words dripping with sarcasm just caused the four of them to laugh harder at the banter being playfully bounced across the room.

Four soon became a complete set of five as a gangly boy, eyes still half shut, hair sticking up in every possible direction shuffled down the stairs and into the dining area, not even bothering to pick up his feet as he dragged them lethargically across the floor. "What's everyone laughing at" Finn asked, stifling down a yawn.

"Nothing for you to worry your pretty little confused head about" he heard his brother say as he walked towards the table, a tray that held a hot, stack of pancakes in one hand and a bottle of maple syrup in the other. "Breakfast is served" Kurt proudly announced as he took his seat next to Blaine which Carole had kindly vacated, Finn promptly took a seat next to his mother and Burt at the head of the table. Everything just felt...right. Everything felt normal, even though things were far from normal.

The complimentary comments were made towards Kurt before the family settled into a comfortable silence. Nothing really needed to be said. As the Breakfast drew to an end, Burt effectively broke the silence.

"Kurt are you sure you don't want me to come with you today? I'm sure Marcus can cover for me, I mean, It is what I pay him for."

"No dad, honestly, go to work - I'll be fine. There won't be much for you to do anyway - It's just going to be a lot of sitting around for hours on end."

"But it's your first treatment Kurt...I-"

"I haven't forgotten what it is, dad" Kurt swiftly said as he danced his fork along the empty plate in front of him, refusing to meet Burts eyes. He soon looked up." Dad, honestly, just- just go to work. You know, do something than worry about me for a few hours - It'll be a good distraction. I'll be fine." Kurt assured him but Burt was hardly convinced.

"You're my son. Even when you're under the same roof as me, I'll never stop worrying about you. But okay." Burt felt better knowing that even if Kurt point blankly refused his presence, Blaine would still be there with him. He knew that Kurt would be safe with Blaine and that Blaine would comfort his son throughout the day. That he had no doubts about. He knew that Kurt was right though, the actual process of recieving the chemotherapy would be fairly straightforward and would just involve a lot of sitting around - the real work would start in the following days. "Will you just make sure that you dress comfortably? Its going to be a long and gruelling day for you."

"Yes dad" Kurt obviously giving his father the answer he wanted.

Under his mothers instructions, Finn cleared the table and filled the dishwasher with the mornings items. Both Burt and Carole dashed around the house as they got ready for the day of work ahead of them. Before either of them left the house, they both offered extra long goodbyes today, complete with 'I love you's', 'I'm so proud of you' and 'I'll be thinking of you' before walking out of the front door. He knew they cared and were worried but Kurt almost felt...smothered by it all. He usually would have welcomed all of the attention but he didn't want any with this. It was wishful thinking but he just wanted to pretend that this wasn't all such a big deal. Kurt was almost relieved when the only thing Finn said to him before leaving to meet Rachel was 'Good luck dude'.

As Blaine walked into their bedroom, a disbelieving chuckle escaped his mouth. Kurt was standing at his vanity mirror, coiffing his hair to nothing short of perfection. He shut his eyes, as if when he reopened them Kurt would be dressed in something completely different. The charcoal waistcoat sculpted his upper body, the white shirt underneath tucked neatly into the black skinny jeans that hugged Kurt perfectly and defined every curve of his lower body. If today wasn't so important, Blaine might have considered the two of them being late.

"Kurt" He began, desperately trying to stifle another laugh, "I don't think that's what your dad meant when he said dress 'comfortably'."

"Exactly - He said dress 'comfortably' and this _is_ what I'm comfortable in." Kurt informed him.

"Erm, I think he meant more along the lines of sweat pants and a loose fitting top babe."

Kurt slowly turned towards his boyfriend who stood in the doorway of their room. Blaine was confused to find a smile across his face. "I would rather be caught dead." He simply said, nodding as he did as if to emphasise his point. Suddenly the smile made more sense to Blaine. "Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Kurt added.

Blaine admitted defeat. Kurt wasn't going to change and although he wanted Kurt to be comfortable, he wasn't exactly complaining at the end result. "Okay, if you say so." He walked into the room and collected the magazines from the bed Kurt had gathered together for the day. "Ready to go?" he said offering out an outstretched hand. Kurt looked at him for a minute. He loved Blaine with all of his heart but those three words just reminded him why. They reminded him that Blaine was sticking to his promise and that he always would keep his promise - that he was going to be there for Kurt throughout this, that he would never leave his side, that he would support him throughout everything. If love was an eye colour, Kurts eyes would have been drowning in it right now. With a simple nod, he slipped his hand into Blaines and the two of them walked out of the room, shutting the door of that one last moment of normalcy the two of them had just shared behind them.

* * *

><p>It felt as though hours and hours had passed when in reality, they had only been driving for fifteen minutes. The twenty five minute drive to the Hospital felt as though it was taking an eternity today. The two boys sat in silence as Blaine drove them. He'd made the conscious decision to leave the radio off - he didn't think that Kurt would be in the mood for animated, enthusiastic radio presenters playing their cheery pop music today. As the car rolled to a stop at a red light, Blaine realised he had made the appropriate decision and had predicted Kurts mood correctly. As he looked over, he found his boyfriend staring aimlessly out of the window, his hands resting in his lap. Kurt was pulled out of his daze when he felt Blaine take one of his hands to rest in between them. Blaine squeezed it and flashed Kurt a brief comforting smile before pulling away at the change of the lights. Kurt turned back towards the window, feeling more relaxed than he had the whole journey and their hands never broke away from each others for the remaining time spent in the car.<p>

Approaching the hospital doors, Kurt took a deep breath. _No turning back now. _Finished gathering their things from the car, Blaine trailed behind. As he reached Kurt, he placed a hand to the small of his back.

"Come on babe" he whispered. "Together, remember?"

"Together" Kurt whispered and the two of them walked hand in hand, through the reception doors.

It had been a few days since either of them had been in the Hospital but nothing had changed. It was all still so familiar. The piercing beeping sounds being emitted from the various machines around the wards, the potent aroma of the disinfectant that wafted through the air, Doctors rushing past them, tightly clutching their beeping pagers in their hands. Despite the constant noises surrounding them, the walk up to the Oncology Ward was silent. They didn't need to make small talk about what was going on around them or what they could see around them - they had each other and that was all they needed right now.

"Can I help you boys?" The receptionist warmly said as they approached the Front Desk of the Oncology Ward.

"Yeah I'm Kurt Hummel and I'm here for...I'm here for my t-treatments" he slowly trailed off.

The womans fingertips moved expertly along the keyboard as if she had been working at computers her whole life. Kurt wasn't even sure if she was looking at the keyboard - her eyes were fixed at the screen in front of her.

"Oh yeah I've got you. Okay sweetie do you want to just go take a seat over there..." she lifted herself slightly out of her chair and pointed to the row of chairs along the wall behind them, "and your Nurse, her names Steph, she'll come out and get you in a minute - I'll just let her know you're here." She finished with a smile.

Both Kurt and Blaine thanked the woman before walking over to the chairs, hands still voluntarily glued tightly together. As they sat down, Kurt rested his head on Blaines shoulder. They weren't waiting long before a young woman came strolling around the corner, who they assumed must have been Kurts nurse. She had short, wavy honey blonde hair with eyes that closely resembled delicate emeralds. She looked every bit the professional Nurse with her light blue scrubs and stethoscope dangling around her neck. Kurt guessed she was probably in her thirties.

"Kurt Hummel?" She said as she approached them. The two boys politely stood to their feet.

"That's me"

"It's so good to meet you honey. I'm Steph and I'll be your nurse for all of your treatments." She turned her attention to Blaine. "Who's this then?"

"This is Blaine - Blaine Anderson. He's my boyfriend."

"It's lovely to meet you" Blaine said as he extended his free hand to her.

"Oooh he's quite the charmer isn't he? Caught yourself a good one." She said to Kurt with a playful wink. She happily took Blaines hand. "Lovely to meet you too sweetie." She took a step backwards from the two boys. "Well I have to say that you two are _exceptionally_ handsome - If only I was 10 years younger" She dreamily commented. "And..." she brought her left hand up into all of their eye levels "Not married" she added which just caused them all of them to laugh. Kurt loved her already. The fun but soft motherly quality within her had, in a matter of minutes, allowed Kurt to feel incredibly relaxed. Steph almost reminded Kurt of Carole.

"Right lets just take a seat again so I can go over a couple of things with you both okay." They all swiftly sat down as Steph glanced at the clipboard she had been holding, muttering the information she was reminding herself of under her breath. "Okay, so, Kurt..." she lifted her head to look at the two boys who waited patiently "You're down as an outpatient, correct?"

"Correct" Kurt assured her

"And you will be undertaking Intravenous Chemotherapy?"

"Intra-what?" His eyebrows slowly furrowed together.

"Intravenous chemotherapy" she repeated. Steph found the look of confusion on his face utterly adorable. "Are you having it through the vein sweetie?"

"Oh, yeah I - sorry I didn't realise there was an actual name." Kurt almost felt ashamed that he didn't know that there was a technical name for his treatment but Steph soon cast his worries aside.

She waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about it. In all honesty, you probably don't need to know the full name - It's just because its right in front of me and our notes obviously have to be written very precise and technical and using all correct medical terminology." She glanced over her notes one more time before saying "I think that is everything. Are you ready?"

Kurt looked over his shoulder to find Blaine smiling at him. The same comforting smile that reassured Kurt that he was right there beside him.

"Yes" he said as he turned back to Steph.

"Okay, follow me then and we can get everything set up"

Several doors along the corridor were left ajar and as they walked along, Kurt couldn't help but notice several of the other patients on the ward receiving their treatments as he peered inside. Some were old, some were young, some looked like him - as though it was their first time on the ward too and some just looked frail and defeated - like they'd been here too many times before.

"Here we go" Steph said as they arrived at the room. It was a good medium sized room - the walls were a calming light blue which was a vast improvement from the bland white walls Kurt was surrounded by the last time they had been there. There was a large window that allowed the natural light to freely illuminate the room. A brown, leather armchair resided in the centre of the room and next to it was all the equipment and machines that would be required for the treatment. Blaine took one of the chairs from the stack that was tucked safely into the far corner and brought it right next to the armchair which Kurt was now making himself comfortable in. The machines suddenly started to whir into life as Steph started to get everything ready. After a few minutes of pressing every single possible button on the machines and hooking several wires into their rightful places, Steph turned to Kurt with the Cannula in her hand, that was hooked up to the IV drip behind her.

"Are you ready sweetie?"

Kurt nodded and with that, she crouched down and gently lay his hand palm downwards against the arm rest. Blaine took Kurts other hand and just held it.

"This might pinch a little" she warned him before slowly inserting the needle into the back of his hand. His eyes shut tightly and his breath hitched slightly at the intrusion causing Blaine to give the hand he was holding a reassuring squeeze.

As she stood back to her feet, she flicked a switch on the machine and that was that. The treatment that could quite possibly save him was beginning its journey around his bloodstream.

"Okay you're all set now. Now the drip is set to run for four hours so I'll come back and check in on you every hour. You might feel a bit drowsy within the next couple of hours but that's perfectly normal so don't worry if you fall asleep. Is there anything either of you two need before I go?"

"No I think we're good, thank you" Kurt replied.

"All right then sweetie, I'll leave you to it and I'll be back in an hour."

"Thank you Steph" Kurt said.

"Thank you" Blaine politely added.

She gave them a quick wave before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

"Distract me" Kurt said after a brief moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"Distract me" he repeated. "I need something to take my mind off of the fact that I have something dripping into my body, through a needle that's through the back of my hand right now. Just...anything. Talk about...my amazing breakfast this morning or what you dreamt about last night or even talk about the weather - anything."

"Do you remember when we first met?" Blaine swiftly questioned.

"Or that" Kurt commented, clearly not expecting that question but always a welcome subject. "Erm...no actually, I-enlighten me." Blaine suspiciously narrowed his eyes and Kurt couldn't keep up the act any longer, promptly bursting into a fit of giggles at Blaines face. Just thinking about that day never failed to put a smile on Kurts face. "Of course I do you doofus. Why - what about it?"

"Nah I was - I was just thinking about it the other day. Reminiscing, I guess."

"And?" Kurt encouraged.

Blaine looked straight into Kurts eyes. "And I just remember thinking, as soon as I saw you, that there was something so...striking about you. I - I can't really describe it, it's - it's indescribable" he quipped.

Kurt shook his head as he laughed at his boyfriend. He bit his bottom lip as he stared into Blaines eyes. "You know, I used to be really cynical when it came to that whole 'Oh it was Love at first sight' stuff, but, I'm pretty sure that I fell in love with you as soon as I saw you."

A smile tugs at Blaines lips as he opens his mouth to begin his response but he's quickly halted by Kurt holding up a finger to stop.

"Don't you even try and tell me that you did too Blaine Anderson cause I _know _you didn't. Do we even need to mention a few certain people?" He teased.

"Okay maybe not. But there was one thing I was always certain of." Kurt tilted his head as a silent encouragement for Blaine to continue. "I was always certain that there was something special about you and that you were someone I had to have in my life. No matter what."

Kurt sighed in content as he squeezed his hand "Well that's good enough for me." Despite being in a hospital and on a cancer ward, both boys felt as content as ever in each others company if the blissful smiles plastered across their faces were anything to go by.

* * *

><p><strong>So I hope you liked it - I really like the Breakfast scene in this personally :) <strong>

**Now I'm on half term now - THANK GOD! So i do have some work to do but amazingly, my tutors were extremely nice and havent given me too much to do :O so I'm hoping that I'll be able to use this week to catch up with my writing :) so wish me luck xD**

**Okay now this might be wishful thinking on my behalf but I wanna make it a target to get to 30 reviews by the end of this chapter - I see how many of you read this and lets just say, its definately a lot but still I only got 4 reviews on my last chapter :'( So who wants to be a dear and help me reach my target(a) I'll love you all forever but I love you all anyway so yano :)**

**Hmm so yeah i think thats everything. Remember Tumblr link is in my profile :)  
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**Until we meet again my lovelyss(L)xx**


	7. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: I feel i should just start every chapter with the biggest apology ever! I personally give you all permission to virtually slap me :L I havent forgotten about this i swear, this one is up SO MUCH later than I wanted it to be but life gets in the way unfortunately. I had an English deadline for my final draft of coursework to hand in and that was just absolutely CRAZY - many coffees and late nighters for me :L I also managed to get a job in the past couple of weeks and I'm literally posting this as I've just got home from my second induction day - yay me :L**

**But onto a happier, more relevant note - YOU GUYS HELPED ME REACH MY TARGET! I was absolutely ecstatic when that happened so a huge thank you to the seven lovelys of you that took the time to review :) And 'cathymalfoy' - I feel honoured that you actually spent the time to go through stories so that you could find mine to review, that made me really happy so thank you:) Not that i havent before but I read through every single review a couple of weeks ago and I realised that I've not had one bad one (Touchwood :L) - you've all been so supportive and encouraging and I just seriously cant thank you enough.**

**Also to everyone who alerted and favourited and put me on their author alerts and favourite authors lists - I love you all too and thank you:)**

**Without even meaning to, this chapter ended up being my longest one to date with 6729 words - I didnt even know i could write that much! So hopefully, as long as you guys like it, it will make up for my serious lack of updating and i promise to hopefully have the next one up sooner :)**

**Also, did you guys watch the First Time xD Oh gosh I cried at 'I want you to be' and the last scene :'(**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Glee :/**

* * *

><p>The steady beeping sound being omitted from the hospital equipment beside him slowly started to change from a dull, muffled tone to being much sharper and more precise.<p>

"Mmm" Kurt moaned as his hands rubbed over his temples and moved across to rub circles into his eyelids.

"I take it I fell asleep?" He asked although he really didn't need to. The small patch of saliva that had gathered around the corner of his mouth and the roughness of his voice was enough to tell him that yes, he had fallen asleep - and for quite a while at that.

Without looking up from his book, Blaine answered "You did indeed". Peering at Kurt from underneath his eyelashes and seeing the boy was still in a semi unconscious daze, Blaine saw it as a perfect opportunity for some light hearted teasing. Turning his attention back to his book even though he had absolutely no interest in reading anymore, he non chalantly remarked "You even started snoring for a while."

Kurt could have easily strained a muscle with how quickly he whipped his head around to the left of him to stare at his boyfriend. Those seven, simple words had caused Kurt to resemble a deer caught in headlights. Blaine rested the book on his thigh as he shrugged his shoulders at Kurt who still look _absolutely _mortified. This was too good to not carry on for a little longer.

"You even snorted at one point. It was only a couple of times but-"

"Oh my god!" Kurt exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled as his head was currently buried deeply in his hands as if he would die of embarrassment at any moment.

Blaine struggled to stifle his laughter but he resisted and continued.

"Babe, it's okay. You know your Dad snores so it maybe just something you've inherited and it's only just started now. Finn's quite a trooper at some points too though so if it's not nature, it's defiantly a nurture thing."

"Urgh" Kurt groaned as he buried his face further into the depths of his lap, embarrassment brightly flushed over his face. "Oh my god this is _horrible_! I wouldn't be surprised if you never want to stay in the same room as me anymore. Urgh I'm gonna have to buy a nose guard or a nasal strip or _something! _You do know people have surgery because of this sort of thing." Kurt rambled uncontrollably.

"I don't think you're gonna need surgery Kurt."

"Why. Because it's magically going to disappear by itself?" The deadpan expression on his face perfectly complimented the sarcasm soaked comment.

"No but because you weren't snoring in the first place." Blaine said simply

Blaine hadn't realised that one person could convey so many facial expressions in such a short space of time. He watched as Kurts face turned from shock to absolute relief. Relief quickly turned to confusion as Kurt eyed his boyfriend suspiciously with furrowed eyebrows. It was at this point that the facade Blaine had been expertly portraying started to crack as his lips intermittently twitched upwards as the laughs he desperately attempted to stifle down crept to the surface. Kurts eyes widened as he gasped at the sudden realisation however the realisation quickly turned to anger as he snatched the book from Blaines lap and promptly began to swat his boyfriend with it, hitting any body part that was in his reach.

"I surrender, I surrender!" Blaine managed to exclaim through his side splitting laughter as he grabbed the handkerchief from his pocket and waved it around in the air in defeat.

"I can't _believe _you" Kurt said as he eventually desisted from whacking his boyfriend with the paperback book.

"oh come on Kurt, _that_ wasfunny - the look on your face was absolutely _priceless_!"

"That was in no way, _anywhere near_ being funny. I hate you"

"No you don't" Blaine remarked in an innocent sing-song voice but Kurt wasn't budging as he sat in the chair staring straight ahead with his arms folded across his chest.

"I really do." he stated, refusing to make eye contact.

Without warning, Blaine lifted himself out of the chair and leaned over Kurt, gently cradling Kurts chin in his hands as he tilted his head upwards to place a gentle, loving kiss against his boyfriends pouting lips.

"Do you still hate me now?" Blaine whispered against Kurts lips as he pulled ever so slightly away from the embrace.

"Shut up" Kurt murmured in defeat before winding his hand around Blaines neck to pull him into another kiss.

"Why would you do that though!" Kurt exclaimed as he abruptly cut short the kiss before he got too carried away with forgiving his boyfriend.

Blaine shrugged his shoulders as he sat back down in his chair, a mischievous smile gracing his face. "It was too easy I guess. How are you feeling anyway? Not too hot or cold are you" He said as he placed the back of his hand against Kurts forehead.

"Besides being miffed at you?" A toothy grin from Blaine elicited a scoff from Kurt. "I'm okay though. It's weird - like I know its going in and I can see it but I can hardly feel it." he said as he watched the liquid slowly drip down the IV wire and through the cannula, into his veins. He looked towards Blaine who was watching him with an air of admiration. "I'm starting to get really bad cramps from sitting here too long - when can we go home?"

"Well, You were booked in for 10 and Steph said 4 hours, so, according to this, you should be able to go pretty darn..."

Steph conveniently chose this moment to make her grand re-entrance as she burst into the room - two o'clock on the dot. "Oh Kurt you're awake! How're you boys doing?" she questioned.

"Soon" Blaine whispered to Kurt as he finished his earlier incomplete sentence, winking at his boyfriend in response to his nurses impeccable timing.

"So how are you Kurt? You were asleep the last two times I've popped in to check in on everything. How are you feeling sweetie?" Steph said as she started to carefully remove the Cannula and disconnect the various wires.

"Yeah I felt drowsy earlier but I feel okay - is - is that really it? All done?"

"That's it. That is your first round of treatment over and done with." Steph said as she switched off the final machine, smiling brightly at Kurt and promptly bringing the whirring noise that echoed around the room to a standstill. "Now I wish I could tell you that that's it until next month but you know as well as I do that it isn't, so what I'm going to do is prescribe you with some tablets that will be able to help you with the nausea you are most likely to experience in the next few days. I'd recommend two a day and although it won't make the nausea disappear completely, it will help _a substantial amount_, trust me."

"Okay" Kurt simply said, taking in everything he had just been told.

"Alright then, I'll let you two get yourselves sorted whilst I go book you in for your next appointment and I'll sort out those tablets and leave them at reception for you to collect as you leave."

"Thank you" the two boys echoed in unison.

"No problem boys - It was lovely to meet you both today and I shall see you next month Kurt. If you feel you need to come in sooner for absolutely anything, you feel a twitch in the wrong place or the nausea doesn't subside after a prolonged period or even if you just have a question, do not hesitate to pick up the phone or just come in, okay?"

"Alright I will" Kurt laughed.

"I'm holding you to that" she called out as she walked out of the room.

It didn't take long for the two boys to gather their things together and walk towards the exit of the building, not before making the quick pit stop at reception to confirm the details for Kurts next round of treatment and to collect his pills which Steph held tightly in her grasp until she heard Kurt promise to her again that if he had any problems at all, no matter how minor they might seem to him or any questions, no matter how stupid he thought they sounded, that he would consider calling or coming in. Once she was satisfied, she happily handed the tablets over and waved them off with an affectionate smile.

* * *

><p>"Right. You. Bed. Now" Blaine stated as they walked through the front door.<p>

"Mr Anderson, what on earth are you suggesting" Kurt flirted in response.

"Oh you are _so_ funny Hummel" Blaine teased as he walked over to Kurt and gently guided him towards the stairs. Kurt didn't even protest as he walked up the stairs, Blaine following right behind him. "Seriously though, the doctors said that after your treatment you need to rest and _that_ my friend, is _exactly_ what you are going to do, starting right now."

Blaine was confused as to why Kurt halted as he reached the top of the stairs and turned around to face him.

"Why did you stop? Did-did you forget something downstairs?"

"No" Kurt smiled. He brought one of his hands up to Blaines cheek, brushing his thumb against the cheekbone. "No, its just, I know I was teasing you back downstairs but I just really needed to say thank you," Blaine was so lost in Kurts words that he hadn't realised the absence of Kurts hand from his cheek until he felt the warmth of it in his own hand. "For everything you've done today" Kurt finished.

"You don't need to thank me" Blaine whispered.

"I know, but, I want to."

The two exchanged grateful smiles before Kurt finished leading the way to their bedroom, Blaines hand still firmly held in his. As they sunk down into the mattress and made themselves comfortable, Blaines arm instinctively wound itself around Kurts shoulders, bringing the boy closer to him which elicited no protest from Kurt as he himself naturally snuggled himself closer to his boyfriend, resting his head against his chest. Blaine brought his free hand to comfortingly run his fingers through Kurts hair. They had all the space in the world as they lay on the king sized bed and yet all they wanted was to be as close to each other as possible.

"So do you want to watch a film or something?" Blaine asked

"I'm quite happy just to lie here like this" Kurt said contentedly. He lifted his head off of Blaines chest to look him in the eyes. "I mean, we can watch a film if you want to - I know you wanted to see-"

"Kurt" Blaine silenced his rambling. "I'm happy to just lie here too. I'm happy to do anything as long as its with you."

"Okay" Kurt smiled and shuffled back down as he settled his head against Blaines chest once more.

They just lay there in silence, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Blaine found himself thinking about the bravery and courage his boyfriend had shown throughout this whole ordeal. Blaine was adamant that Kurt was the strongest person he would ever have the honour of knowing and throughout one of, if not the most terrifying thing a human could ever experience in their life, his boyfriend still showed unfathomable strength.

"I'm so proud of you Kurt. Kurt?" When he heard no response, Blaine slightly lifted his head and looked down to find that Kurt had fallen asleep. Blaine smiled to himself, quite content to hold the sleeping boy in his arms.

* * *

><p>Blaine had reluctantly left Kurt resting peacefully upstairs as he decided to cook dinner for the rest of the family. As the day drew out and turned to dusk, the house slowly started to become a home again as its inhabitants gradually started to return home for the night.<p>

"That smells gorgeous" Carole observed as she and Burt walked into the open plan kitchen. They had both gotten home within a short time frame of each other and had not so coincidentally met each other in Kurts room as the top concern for both of them was to check on Kurt as soon as they got home.

"I'm making Lasagne for dinner - is-is that okay" Blaine questioned.

"Sweetie _of course _it is" Carole exclaimed. "You didn't have to do that though - I mean, I'm sure you would much rather be upstairs with Kurt than tied up down here."

"He's asleep right now. The Doctors and Nurses have all said that he'll need rest so I'm just letting him do that. He fell asleep pretty quickly once we got home." Blaine stopped stirring the mince as he turned to face Burt and Carole. "Besides, I-I just wanted you both to know how much I appreciate you guys allowing me to live here and to just show you. I know it's not much, I mean it's just dinner, but, you know-" he slowly trailed off.

"We wouldn't have it any other way kiddo" Burt definitively said. "Never doubt or forget that."

Blaine nodded his head in gratitude as Burt and Carole pulled themselves up onto the stools at the island. Typically of him, Burt had failed to notice the bright sunflowers in the vase directly in front of him that were almost like a ray on sunshine in his very own kitchen but Carole, going on female instinct, spotted them instantly.

"Well they definitely weren't here this morning" she obviously stated, "Who are they from?"

Blaine, who was so distracted perfecting his layering of pasta sheets on top of layers of mince and white sauce, looked up to see what she was referring to.

"Oh" he said in realization. "They're for Kurt from all of the New Directions. Rachel had them at her house so Finn brought them home with him this afternoon. They got him a card too." He nodded his head to the direction of the mantelpiece where indeed, a pristine white envelope resided. "He hasn't seen them yet though. I was thinking about taking the flowers up to his room though - you know, something nice for him to wake up to."

Carole nodded slowly in approval. "That sounds like a lovely idea. How did everything go today?"

"Yeah it went well actually" Blaine said as he put the dinner into the over and rose up from his crouching position. He took a seat at the bar with Burt and Carole and continued. "His nurse - Steph, she's just amazing, she's so lovely. But it was all pretty simple really. She had to insert the needle into the back of his hand and she set the machines up and that was it really. The sessions last for four hours and he fell asleep about two and a half hours in but Steph said that feeling drowsy during the treatment is to be expected as well as feeling tired afterwards. She checked on him every hour though and before we left, she prescribed us some tablets that should be able to help with the nausea which she said we can start tomorrow."

"How did he deal with the needle?" Burt asked. "I remember taking him to his Tetanus shot appointment when he was six and because it was his first injection, I told him to wrap his hand around my finger and squeeze it when the nurse done the shot. I didn't know a little one could have that much strength" he fondly remembered as the three of them laughed at the now shared memory.

"Well I still have my hand so I call that a success" Blaine laughed.

They talked for a while longer and Finn eventually emerged from his bedroom, just in time for dinner.

"Should we wake Kurt?" Carole said as they all sat down at the table.

"I don't think it's a good idea to disturb him hon - he's settled right now which is the main thing" Burt said.

"Yeah - yeah you're probably right" Carole agreed.

"I'm going to set some aside for him anyway but if he doesn't want a heavy meal, I've already got a tin of cream of chicken soup ready for him. They said that he might not feel up to eating today but that that was okay as him recuperating after today is the most important concern for him right now."

They all expressed their approval and indulged in the beautiful, home made dinner, complete with golden baguettes of garlic bread and crisp, garden salad.

As the night grew later, everyone retired to their respectful bedrooms. As it turned out, Kurt hadn't woken up for anything to eat and hadn't emerged from his room, not even once since the afternoon. When Blaine walked into the room, ready to sleep, he found his boyfriend still very much content in the land of slumber. Blaine gently lifted Kurts upper body as he shuffled down next to him and didn't hesitate in cuddling the boy as close to him as physically possible. He leaned over and pressed a kiss into Kurts soft hair as he started to wind down and relax for the night. The gesture caused Kurt to groan as he stirred, nuzzling his head against Blaines side.

"Hey you" Kurt tried to say but the effects of sleep obviously having taken their toll on him, the words barely coming out an octave above a whisper.

"Hey there yourself. How're you feeling?"

"Mmm. Tired."

"Go back to sleep" Blaine gently said.

Kurt hummed in agreement as he shuffled himself closer to Blaine, head resting against his chest and his arm lazily draped over his waist.

"Love you" he murmured out before almost instantly falling back to sleep.

Blaine smiled at how adorable Kurt was right now. "Love you too" he whispered. "Always."

* * *

><p>"Kiddo. Hey buddy. Wake up" Burt whispered into his ear as he gently shook Blaines shoulder.<p>

The beaming sunlight that shone brightly through the window slowly started to creep into the hazel eyes as Blaine started to stir. The clock on the bedside table told him it was 8:15am.

"Burt?" He looked around the room in confusion in hopes of finding a clue as to why Burt had woken him up. He looked down to find that Kurt was still fast asleep in his arms. "Urm Kurt - " he coughed to clear the grogginess from his passageway. "Kurts fine Burt"

"I can see that son" Burt said with an amused expression on his face. "No come on, get dressed because I'm taking you out" he proudly revealed.

"Taking me - where are we going?" Blaine questioned.

"Fishing"

Blaine smiled. This man had accepted him so easily into his family and was doing more with him and for him than his own dad had ever done. "Burt look, I-I appreciate the gesture, I really do but...I-"

"Caroles already said she'll look after him for a couple of hours" Burt reassured as he quickly realised that leaving Kurt was the only reason Blaine was reluctant to accept. "Blaine. You need a break, okay. The last thing you want to do is over exhaust yourself, not when he needs you the most" Burt gently explained as he nodded towards Kurt which caused Blaine to look down at the sleeping boy too. "I _promise_ you, we'll be back in a couple of hours."

As he thought about it, even though he was intent on staying by Kurts side whenever possible, he could see where Burt was coming from and so he agreed. As Burt was walking out of the room, he was stopped.

"Is there even a lake in Lima?"

"Oh so much to learn my young one" Burt laughed before quietly shutting the door behind him.

Much to Blaines surprise, just a short twelve miles away from the Hummel-Hudson household lay the quiet, secluded Lake Kerswill, surrounded by tall trees and overgrown yet beautiful greenery. Blaine was surprised that he had never seen or even heard of this place. As they carried their rods and bait down the slight gradient, Burt explained that the place is always very quiet and that not many people know about it and that he only found it himself after being called out to an emergency call back up on the road. Burt directed them in the direction of the wooden pier that was firmly elevated over the lake . They quickly made themselves comfortable and wasted no time in hooking the slithering worms onto the ends of their fishing rods.

"You know Kurt would be freaking out right about now if he was here, you know, with all of the worms." Blaine swung his rod and watched as the end of it disappeared into the depths of the murky water.

"I learnt that lesson a long time ago." Burt recalled. "When he was around 7, we were all on holiday visiting his grandparents down in Florida. They have great places to fish down there so when I decided to go on one of our last days, his mum begged me to take him with me and eventually I said okay and he seemed quite happy to come along. So we got on the boat and everything was fine and I'm not sure how he thought we were actually going to catch the fish because as soon as I took the lid off of the container, the boat nearly toppled with how quickly he scrambled to the other side. He didn't talk to me for at least half an hour"

Blaine laughed at the image of Kurt in his younger years. "Stubborn even then. Good to see he hasn't changed. He really does hate insects though" Blaine thought aloud.

"Why - what did you do that involved insects?" Burt joked

"I might have put a fake spider on his bed at Dalton one Halloween" Blaine innocently revealed.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that that wasn't a good idea?" Burt teased

"You thought half an hour was bad? - try 2 hours Burt! And even when I did finally get him to start talking to me again, he kept smacking me at random times for the rest of the night saying "It wasn't funny Blaine." He only realised it was fake when he grabbed a newspaper from the desk and started to hit it which then just had me in _stitches_ until he turned around so that _I_ could feel the wrath of the newspaper."

"Well I guess we both learnt our lessons." Burt stated.

"Definitely."

For a beginner in the activity of Fishing, Blaine was a natural. The lake wasn't home to tiny, little fishes but held big strong ones that put up an extremely tough fight but after a first few failed attempts, Blaine was reeling fish after fish to the shore. Even Burt was impressed. He wasn't jealous at all - he was adamant that he just picked the wrong side of the pier to sit on as he had caught some fish but not as many as the amateur next to him.

True to his word, an hour and a half after they had arrived at the lake, Burt expressed that they should probably be getting back home and although Blaine was thoroughly enjoying the quality bonding time with Burt, he had no protest. They gathered their equipment together and started to trek back up the slight hill. As they reached the car and started to load up the boot with their accompaniments, Burts next sentence took Blaine off guard.

"You know, I'm really proud of you Blaine."

Blaine turned his head with widened eyes. He wasn't expecting that.

"You know, you've been dealt a hard lot in the last few years, more than any other average nineteen year old but you never dwell on the past or complain, you just take it all in your stride and you become a stronger person. I've watched you do exactly that this past week too. Its not everyday you're just finishing your first year of college, simply expecting to come home for the summer only to then find out your boyfriend is seriously ill - you know that's - a lot of teenagers your age would find that too much to deal with and would choose not to deal with but you've been there for Kurt, in more ways than I ever could have hoped for - You've stepped up to the challenge, you've dealt with everything in such a dignified manner and I've watched you change from being a boy to a man and I'm just, I'm _really_ proud of you. You're the type of man any parent would be proud to call their son."

Blaine was so overwhelmed with emotion. He stood there absolutely speechless. 'Thank you' didn't seem like a good enough response - nothing did. Before he even realised, his feet were moving him forwards as he hugged the burly man standing in front of him, hoping that the gesture would express at least a fraction of his gratitude.

"You know, you say that I've become a man, but thats only happened because I've been able to learn from the best example." Blaine expressed sincerely as he pulled away. "I never really had a solid male role model I could truly look up to when I was growing up, but then I met Kurt which then gave me the honour of meeting you. _You've_ taught me how to be a man Burt - no one else. I only wish that I'd grown up with a dad like you."

"Well I cant be your dad without your relationship with Kurt being completely frowned upon- " The two of them laughed "-but I have _no doubt _that one day I'll be able to _officially_ call you my son in law and what a proud day that will be."

Blaine directed his gaze downwards as a huge smile crept upon his face. He sincerely met Burts eyes. "And I look forward to the day I can _officially_ call you my father in law."

Burt clapped him on the shoulder and neither could hide the smiles of admirations on their faces. The two of them admired the other so much, each in their own ways and for their own reasons.

* * *

><p>Although he had now finished school and every day held the opportunity for a lie-in, Blaine knew how much Kurt appreciated the few extra hours of sleep he could get on the weekends and so Blaine saw this day as no exception. He turned the doorknob as quietly as possible but was startled to find Kurt wide awake, sitting bolt right up in bed.<p>

"Got your note" He held up the piece of paper he'd been holding. "You went fishing with my dad?" he inquired in an amused expression.

"Yes I did Hummel" Blaine quipped back as he walked further into the room. As he reached the bed, Kurt welcomed him home with a chaste kiss before the two wasted no time in snuggling up together, seeking the contact they both desperately missed when separated.

"So how was it? Did you catch any?"

"I did catch some. It took a while but I eventually got the hang of it. But it was great - we had a great time."

Kurt sighed in content. "That's good - I'm glad. On a side note, I'm really glad you and dad spent some time together today. He really cares about you, you know."

As he thought back to his earlier conversation with Burt, Blaine knew that there was nothing but truth behind those words.

"I know" he simply settled for.

"Who are those flowers from by the way" Kurt asked, effectively breaking the few minutes of comfortable silence that had passed by.

"They're from the New Directions. Finn brought them home with him from Rachels yesterday. They got you a card too" Blaine explained.

"Oh." A yawn he didn't even realise he was holding in suddenly overpowered Kurt. "That's really thoughtful of them."

"Yeah it is. Why don't you go back to sleep for a little while? You sound tired." Blaine gently suggested.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea to be honest. Be here when I wake up?"

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Blaine gently kissed Kurts forehead, soothing him back into a sleep. Kurt had just shut his eyes before he sat bolt up right, startling Blaine who had assumed that Kurt had easily fallen back to sleep.

"Kurt? Are you okay babe?" He asked, concerned for his boyfriend.

Before Kurt could even begin to fathom an answer, his legs had taken control of his whole body, promptly swinging them over the side of the bed and racing into the adjoining en-suite bathroom, reaching his destination just in time. Blaine didn't have to ask what was wrong as the heartbreaking sound of his boyfriend vomiting into the toilet echoed around the room. He knew it was going to happen eventually. They both did. But nothing could have prepared either of them for when it really happened. Blaine promptly darted off of the bed to crouch down next to Kurt, rubbing soothing circles on his back. He couldn't help but feel helpless as he had no other choice but to sit and watch as his boyfriend violently emptied the contents of his already empty stomach into the basin. He would've done absolutely _anything _to take the pain away from him. After a few more relentless upchucks, Kurt hoisted his head up from leaning over the bowl, his forehead dripping with sweat and leaned against the cold, tiled wall directly next to him. Blaine was already waiting with a mug of water that he had gotten from the sink and a damp flannel. The sight of Kurt panting against the wall, desperately trying to recuperate was slowly breaking his heart. He sat next to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

"Here, drink this" he whispered as he brought the mug to Kurts trembling lips and held it tightly as Kurt gratefully took a few sips. When Kurt had had enough, Blaine set the mug on the floor and brought the cool flannel to Kurts forehead, gently brushing a few loose bangs off of his forehead. Kurt groaned at the relief the flannel brought to his scalding forehead.

"And so it begins" he mumbled as Blaine other hand stroked his hair.

"I think now might be a good time to get you started on those tablets" Blaine suggested. He felt Kurts less than energetic nod against his side. He started to get up before he felt a hand instantly wrap around his arm.

"Don't leave. Please" Kurt pleaded. Blaine was sure this was all slowly killing him. He had never seen Kurt plead and it was something he never did want to see. He strongly clasped Kurts cheek into his hand, Kurt nuzzling into the touch.

"20 seconds. Count them - I'm coming right back, I promise. Baby, if I can help you with this or give you something that has the possibility to make all of this even the slightest bit easier on you, then I will." He took Kurts pitiful nod as permission to go.

No less than twenty seconds and Blaine was right back by Kurts side, as promised. He refilled the mug from earlier with some fresh water and gave it to Kurt, along with the round, bright pink tablet. Kurt placed the pill to the back of his throat, gulping it down with the aid of the water. He felt so weak and tired that he hardly acknowledged Blaine taking the mug from his hands and setting it on the bathroom counter.

"Come on" Blaine said as he wound his arm around Kurts waist. "Lets get you back into bed."

They had just made it out of the bathroom and were taking their time as they walked across the room, back to the comfort of their bed. They were so nearly there before Kurt darted from Blaines side and back into the bathroom, feeling the familiar churning in his stomach he'd felt around half an hour before. Blaine was by his side in an instant as he was once again, forced to watch Kurt experience the nausea he desperately wished he didn't have to. Blaine knew the tablets would take a while to work their way through Kurts system - he only hoped that once they did, that everything would be a lot more easier on his boyfriend.

The harshness of the vomiting was considerably less on Kurt but the nausea still didn't stop. For four straight days, Kurt spent the majority of his mornings and the odd occasion throughout the afternoons and evenings vomiting into, depending on where he was, either his toilet basin or into his bedroom bin. Blaine had thoughtfully brought the bin over from the corner of the room to the side of the bed so that it was in easy reach for Kurt to grab when he was tucked up comfortably. Apart from to shower, go to the toilet, eat, bring Kurt fresh glasses of refreshing, ice cold water and bring him food that he could easily stomach, Blaine had hardly left his side. Burt and Carole were extremely grateful because as much as they wanted to stay and look after their son, the bills still had to be paid, including the extra strain of medical bills they now had to take into consideration. The two boys spent the majority of their days watching the variety of films the two of them had collectively put together, talking or Blaine reading either a book or newspaper of some sort after persuading Kurt to sleep. Finn had kindly offered to give Blaine a break nearly every day, which Blaine politely refused but Kurt quickly overthrew his comment by accepting Finns offer because he knew that Blaine would never accept it.

* * *

><p>The house was empty the Thursday morning, aside from Kurt and Blaine. Burt and Carole had both set off early in the morning to their respectful workplaces and Rachel had taken Finn out to celebrate their 10 month anniversary - something she had been meticulously planning since the day after their nine month anniversary celebration.<p>

It was only half eleven in the morning. Blaine hadn't meant to shut his eyes but it was obvious that the following week after Kurts treatment was beginning to take an effect on him. He woke up to find the normally warm space next to him strangely cool. He couldn't hear the distinctive sound of vomiting and Kurts bathroom door wasn't shut so Blaine quickly concluded that the boy wasn't using the toilet, nor in the shower. Although Kurt knew that he shouldn't be up and about, Blaine didn't doubt the determinism that Kurt possessed and so, desperately hoping his instincts were wrong, he cautiously wondered downstairs.

Always trust your instincts they say and Blaine was right to trust his. As he rounded the corner of the stairs, Kurt stood directly in his eye line, frantically cleaning the kitchen island.

"Kurt, what are you doing?"

Kurt looked up briefly as he sprayed disinfectant onto the white kitchen top and started to forcibly rub the cloth against the counter.

"I just wanted a glass of water so that I could take my tablet. You were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you so I just came and got it for myself. _However_, it seems my brother is incapable of clearing up after himself after making his post-breakfast/pre lunch snack. Like he needs it - he eats enough for two at breakfast anyway" he remarked.

"Well come on, you go back upstairs and I'll finish this for you."

"Its okay - I'm almost done. Thank you anyway" Kurt smiled at Blaine.

"Have you even taken your tablet yet then?" Blaine queried.

"I - urm - I got a bit distracted?" Kurt lamely offered.

An exasperated sigh escaped Blaines lips. He walked closer to the island, sliding the glass of water Kurt had managed to pour closer to Kurt and pierced the tablet through the protective film lid. "Right come on, you, take these, and go back upstairs and _I_ will finish this for you" he firmly said.

"Blaine-" Kurt started

"Kurt, you _only just_ stopped vomiting yesterday and yes, you managed to keep down something a little heavier than soup but you still need to take it easy for a while."

Kurt attempted to interject. "Yeah but-"

"Kurt you heard what the Doctors said - you need to rest. They don't just advise you to do so because they feel like it - they're doing it for a reason, and a good one at that. You need to stop rushing your body-"

"Will you stop telling me how I'm feeling!" Kurt snapped. Blaine was taken aback at the abruptness and Kurt regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. He walked around the island to move closer to Blaine, taking his hands in his.

"I'm so sorry" he genuinely offered and if his words weren't enough, his eyes said everything. "I really am - I didn't mean to snap at you, at all. I know you're just looking after me and you have_ no idea_, how grateful I am, its just I-do you know how _frustrating_ it is to be stuck in one bed, in one room for days on end, feeling absolutely helpless, weak, all day, every day? You know I - I just felt good today. The best I've felt since last Friday."

Blaine smiled sympathetically because he _could_ imagine how frustrating this all must be for Kurt. Kurt was such an independent person and was always on the go so to then be suddenly thrown straight into the deep end and being advised to do something that was the complete opposite of his own disposition must've been daunting to say the least.

"But you're right." Kurts voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I guess I was just in a rush to start feeling somewhat normal again" he shrugged.

"I know" Blaine whispered. "I know and - I - I just don't want to you overwork yourself. I just don't want you to put unnecessary stress on yourself - I-I just want to look after you."

"And I love you for it." Kurt wanted to say more but the sudden wave of heat that passed over him distracted him. "Is the heating on or something? It feels really warm in here."

"Its the nearly the end of June Kurt - I doubt the heating's on." Blaine quipped. He placed the back of his hand to Kurts forehead and the difference in temperature was shocking. "Kurt you're burning up! Right, upstairs, now and I'll be up in a minute with your pill and the thermometer."

He placed his hands on Kurts shoulders, gently nudging him in the direction of the stairs. He looked through the medicine cabinet, rummaging through the countless boxes of ibuprofen, the box of pills prescribed to Burt to help keep his blood pressure stable, the half drunk bottle of Pepto Bismal - It was like a personal, in house pharmacy. As he carried on with his search, Blaine swore he could hear a faint call of his name. He quickly dismissed it though knowing that if it was Kurt, his boyfriend would have no trouble in making himself heard. He must've imagined it. The dull thud against the laminated flooring that followed however was unmistakeable and Blaine was absolutely certain he hadn't imagined that. He walked out of the kitchen and fear sparked in every nerve of his body as he saw the motionless body of his boyfriend sprawled out on the floor, just at the bottom of the stairs. He skidded across the floor and dropped to his knees, picking the boy up into his arms and desperately shaking him.

"Kurt. Kurt. KURT!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Im sorry for the cliffhangerr ;O Actually im not sorry cause I want you to read the next chapter (a)**

**I'm not gonna set a target on reviews this time but I would really love and appreciate it if you just took a eensy weensy bit of your time to just let me know what you thought please?(a) If theres something you particurly want to see, let me know in reviews - I read every single one and i take everything into consideration and see if its possible, how i can work it into if not the next chapter, chapters later on in the story cause oh yes, they're all mapped out ;)**

**So please do revieww :)**

**Tumblr link if you wanna know more about me or whatever is http:[.]/[.]theycanttouchus12.[.]tumblr.[.]com/ - obviously take out the [.]'s xD**

**Goodbye for now my dears(L)xx**


	8. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Guys be proud of me, this must be some kind of record since Summer at least because I got this chapter up exactly when I planned to have it up by:) I've been writing this literally whenever I can - on my breaks at college, at home (obviously), I've been typing it up on my phone on my breaks at work and then emailing it to finish working on my laptop - literally whenever I can so I'm happy and I only made you wait 3 weeks so that's not too bad :D**

**So, seeing as we've had 7 chapters, (8 according to FF) I'm sure you know what's coming at this point - Oh yes...Its time for me to say thank you :D So yeah Thank you to everyone who added this to their alert and favourite lists - Big love(L) and Big BIG love to everyone who reviewed(L) Once again, your reviews were just more than I ever could have expected - some of them even floored me to be honest - like I had three separate reviews use the word 'breathtaking' - that just means so much to me so seriously, thank you(L) **

**I just have a few direct mentions to make:**

**XIII13 - Even though they were for four different chapters, your reviews were such a lovely thing for me to see the other day:) I was so happy when I read them and about how you said you probably wont get bored of reading this again and again - well, I just cant even tell you how much that means to me so happy reading - again and again ;P And I'm glad you liked the part where Kurt told Blaine to go pack - I really liked writing that part too - made me laugh :L**

**battleofthebay89 - Hello old friend :D Well your review completely threw me a new one - I had no idea that writing something like that about Burt and Blaine would affect you so much - I just seriously hope that for you, I done it justice :) I'm so happy I wrote that now - I literally just thought of it one night and was like 'Yep - gonna add that in' but yeah, to then read your review and how you felt it filled a hole in your life relating to your dad - I just felt completely moved:)(L)**

**And to all of you who mentioned the cliffhanger - I'm sorry(L) forgive me(a) actually maybe don't forgive me just yet because theres another one at the end of this :D**

**I just wanted to say this because I haven't really before but yeah - I do try and make this story as realistic as possible. I honestly have very little knowledge about cancer and chemotherapy and I just about passed my Science GCSE so I don't really have a lot of medical knowledge so I do spent a lot of time researching everything because I do want to make this as realistic and believable as possible. That being said, my headcanon for this chapter is basically that Kurt already had a temperature and as he exhausted himself more and more, that's why he fainted because obviously noone faints from just cleaning - I know that :L so yeah - just felt like I needed to explain myself a bit :D**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee - sigh**

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><p>The seconds that passed by felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours and the hours just felt like days that would never end. Everything seemed to be crawling past so slowly, it was almost as if time itself had simply stood still because right now, nothing that surrounded Blaine mattered to him. As he tightly clutched his boyfriend in his trembling arms, it felt like an eternity had passed since he had heard the soft tone of his voice or seen two beautiful blue eyes looking right back at him and he silently prayed he would be allowed to greeted with at least one of the options some time soon.<p>

"Kurt. Kurt please, wake up baby. I_ need _you to wake up." His voice was starting to break and although he desperately tried to blink them away, a few tears escaped his own eyes. Never, in all of his life, had he ever felt as scared as he did right now. Now that Kurt was ill, every little thing came with a heightened risk to it. Normally if a person passes out, we all come to the same general conclusions, that they are dehydrated or it's too hot outside for them to handle or maybe it's simply over exhaustion but whilst holding Kurt in his arms, Blaines immediate thoughts were "What if he is starting to reject the chemo? What if the cancer has spread to one of his organs and we don't know about it? What if his body has just given up?" Kurt had only just been diagnosed a short time ago so he hoped and prayed with every fibre of his being that none of them were an option but he desperately pleaded for the last one to_ never_ be an option that they would have to consider but at this moment in time, he just didn't know. He'd heard stories of people who had been diagnosed with cancer only to then die a few weeks later because it had all been too late. He couldn't even think straight right now. Everything was so up in the air and even though it had only been a couple of minutes, Blaine was absolutely terrified.

"Kurt, come on, please just - just squeeze my hand okay? That's all you need to do" His eyelids shut tightly - he couldn't bare to see or feel no response from the motionless body in his arms. However to his complete surprise but most definitely not unwelcome, he felt the tiniest amount of pressure attempting to clutch tightly around his hand. Blaine warily opened his eyes.

"Kurt? Baby?"

In all of his nineteen years of living, Blaine didn't think he had ever been so ecstatic to hear some form of an unintelligible utterance. He could see the slight blinking movements in Kurts eyelids as slowly but surely, his dreams started to turn into a reality as the blue irises he so desperately longed to see slowly made themselves visible to the waiting world again and soon, they were staring straight into the anxious hazel ones.

"Oh thank god" Blaine breathed, lowering his head, leaning his forehead against Kurts.

"Blaine?" Kurt barely croaked out but it was there, Kurt was there. Blaine was laughing with a mixture of relief and happiness now. His name had never sounded more like sweet harmonious music to his ears.

"Yeah" he breathed. "Yeah baby, I'm here" The words coming out stronger because he was there and he always would be there.

Now that Kurt was awake, Blaines scattered, frantic thoughts allowed themselves to organize themselves and his head was able to actually think straight and so deciding the floor was definitely not the place for Kurt to stay, he wrapped one arm tightly around Kurts waist and looped his other arm under the crook of his legs and lifted him over to the sofa. Quick to be back by Kurts side, he dashed into the kitchen to grab the glass of water that they had poured only moments before the dramatic turn of events

"Here, drink this" Blaine gently encouraged, placing the glass into the palm of Kurts hand. He sat in a crouching position on the floor so that he was facing Kurt. He dipped his head to meet Kurts eyes.

"You okay?" he whispered.

Kurt gently nodded as he gratefully drunk half of the contents of the glass. He attempted to put the surplus beverage on the coffee table in front of him, however he was quickly stopped as Blaine promptly placed it back into his palm, encouraging "all of it" to be drunk.

"What actually happened" Kurt asked in-between sips "I remember walking to go upstairs and...and that's it really."

"You passed out Kurt - for about 3 minutes as well. You - you didn't even make it up _a_ stair, let alone _the_ stairs. So take your time in finishing your water but as soon as your done, I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked over."

The confusion that was currently swept over his face about what had happened earlier was suddenly replaced with panic. "What? No - no Blaine, babe I'm fine, honestly. Just - just give me a couple of minutes and then we can go back upstairs yeah?" he nodded his head probably a bit too enthusiastically and hoped that his pleading eyes would convince his boyfriend but Blaine was having none of it.

"Kurt, you can try every trick in the book if you insist but I am taking you to the hospital." he definitively said. The words weren't harsh, just certain but he softened his tone as he continued. He got up from his crouching position in front of Kurt and sat next to him on the sofa, taking both of his hands into his own.

"Look, sweetie, you're ill okay, and we both know that and you are far too important to me, and to Burt, Carole, Finn and everyone else to just let this slide and I _won't _just let this slide - I'm not taking any risks, at all. I'd rather you be safe than sorry, okay?"

"Okay" Kurt whispered in response, slowly nodding his head. He knew that Blaine was right but he simply wanted to avoid going back to the hospital if he specifically didn't have to go there by any means possible but seeing how much this had affected Blaine convinced them that a trip there was worth it if it put his boyfriend at ease and offered him the reassurance Kurt was obviously failing at convincing him of right now.

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><p>"I really do feel fine now though" Kurt continued to chant as he sat on the bed that was lifted highly off of the ground level, allowing Kurt to freely swing his legs backwards and forwards.<p>

"Kurt, you were saying that you felt fine before you passed out, when you came round, in the car, while we were waiting at reception and now here and yet I'm still going to choose to ignore you and wait for a doctor to tell me you're fine - I told you, I'm not taking any risks" Blaine informed Kurt as he intently read an information booklet about the side effects of chemotherapy.

"I_ am_ fine though. I just want to go home."

"And I just want to keep you safe and sound and preferably in one piece ." He closed the book and made eye contact with Kurt. "So it looks like we both failed at what we wanted today didn't we?"

Hoping that Blaine wouldn't hear, under his breath, Kurt muttered "I am fine though."

"Still not taking any risks" Blaine loudly announced, amused that Kurt thought that he wouldn't be able to hear his quiet protest.

Kurt quickly surrendered his argument which led to a silence filled room. The hospital was almost becoming a second home to Kurt, yet he still hated the building with everything he possessed. Suddenly, the slight creak of the door handle being pulled down and click of the door opening caused their attentions to turn from what they were each previously doing to towards the door.

"Hi Dr Rolstone" Blaines polite manners never failing to show themselves in any social situation.

"Hello boys. Mr Hummel, it is _far_ too soon for you to be back here." Dr Rolstone quipped as he entered the room, carrying a folder clearly labelled K Hummel which he was skim reading over. "So, according to what I'm reading, you passed out this morning for about 3 minutes - what had you been doing before it all happened?" Dr Rolstone enquired as he grabbed a spare chair from the corner of the room and brought it closer to the two boys.

Kurt laughed nervously as he shrugged his shoulders, knowing the possible reason that this all happened could have all been easily avoided if it wasn't for the small OCD side to him that was just screaming at him to clear up the mess his brother had made.

"Well I - It's kind of-"

"Cleaning." Blaine simply answered for him, cutting short any plan Kurt had of hoping to explain the situation in any round-about way he could think of. "He was _cleaning_ of all things. I'd fallen asleep and he'd gone downstairs to get some water so that he could take his tablet and, well you see, Kurt's a little bit of a perfectionist, you know, everything has to be neat and tidy and everything has a rightful place whereas his brother, you met him - Finn, well he- let's just say he's the complete opposite and I guess you can fill in the missing pieces and finish the puzzle for yourself."

"So...let me make sure I have this right - basically, you allowed yourself to get so worked up to the point that you ended up passing out because your brother is a bit of a slob?" Dr Rolstone slowly said, running through the details in his own head.

"Well - It obviously sounds stupid when you say it like that" Kurt murmured as he hid his blushing face from the his boyfriend and Doctor.

"Kurt" The disapproving tone was so clearly evident in Dr Rolstones voice that the only thing Kurt could do was smile sheepishly at the man.

"Erm, Kurt had been complaining about being hot a little while before and I felt his forehead and it was really warm but I didn't get a chance to take his temperature - is, you know - can you tell us what was that about, was that another side effect of treatment?"

"An uncommon one but it can be" Dr Rolstone agreed. "You know at school when you would play sports in your P.E lessons or playing sports generally, but as you got more and more into the game, you would feel warmer but more tired at the same time?" They both slowly nodded. "Well it's the same principle. You might not have been doing anything that is normally too strenuous but your body is vulnerable and recovering from a major change to the system at the moment. You know, it's probably never been exposed to something as powerful as chemotherapy before and maybe after your second round, when you're actually used to it, you'll probably be able to do simple tasks like that-"

"But not right now?" Kurt finished the sentence for him.

"Not right now. Your body just needs a little longer to adjust" his Doctor clarified. "Kurt, I know this is hard for you. You're only eighteen years old but you have to know that all of this, the cancer and the chemotherapy, it's a psychological readjustment as much as it is a physical one. So even if _you_ might think you feel good and dandy at the moment, just remember that you're body hasn't quite caught up with your mindset and won't be able to handle as much as you think it might can so really, right now, rest is your most vital asset."

"Told you" Blaine quietly sung but loud enough for Kurt to hear.

"Shut up" Kurt gently hissed, not wanting or having any intention at all in giving Blaine the satisfaction of proving him right.

"Sorry, what - what was that?" Doctor Rolstone chipped in

"Oh, no I was just gently reminding Kurt that he should really listen to me more often and to not be so stubborn and stay in bed when I advise him to" Blaine teased.

Doctor Rolstones nodded in approval as his eyebrows lifted from their dormant position. He pointed to Blaine and remarked "Well _he_ is a keeper Kurt. Wise one you've got there"

Kurt scoffed as his eyes rolled backwards. "Don't flatter him - giving Blaine compliments is like telling a six year old that they're going to Willy Wonkas chocolate factory for a week." It was now Kurts turn to point at Blaine as he referenced the boy. "His ego in tow of a compliment?" Kurt gestured his hands outwards as he complimented it with an explosion noise, causing Doctor Rolstone to laugh and Blaine to shake his head insistently.

"Its not _all_ compliments" Blaine defended. "Only compliments where it's proved that_ I _was right and _you_ were wrong because you _know_ how conceited you get when you prove me wrong. Hurts to be on the other end of the stick, doesn't it?" A cheesy grin was plastered over Blaines face at this point. He also winked at him, leaving Kurt to only shake his head at him.

Doctor Rolstone laughed at the old married couple bickering playfully in his presence. "Just rest from now on okay. Don't overwork yourself - especially after your first round, the first few days, the first week _at least_ are vital for you to allow yourself to recuperate and get your energy levels back up to a reasonable level - up to a level so that something like this shouldn't happen again. Besides, it should be great - being waited on hand and foot, not having to do anything, Blaine here at your absolute beck and call."

"Oh it's alright, he just does that anyway" Blaine quipped

Kurt shot him a slight death glare but his lips twitched upwards as he couldn't deny how true that was, particularly in the example of Kurt dragging an unwilling Blaine on several shopping trips over the time they had known each other but Blaine did it because above everything else, he would do anything to see Kurt smile and to make him happy, even if that did slightly classify him as Kurts own personal workhorse.

"Right now I'm going to insist on keeping you in for a few hours just to make sure we don't have any more hiccups and I might just do a blood test to make sure that we're still okay and there really isn't any underlying problems but as far as I'm concerned, there is no reason that you can't go home today but what are you going to do right now?" Doctor Rolstone encouraged.

"Stay here and rest?"

"Ah, he _finally_ sees the light" Doctor Rolstone exclaimed before walking out of the room.

Kurt looked over at Blaine to find his boyfriend already has his best conceited look plastered all over his face.

"Okay, fine, just get on with your 'I told you so's' because I _know_ you're dying to say it."

"No I'm not going to, but, you know-" he shrugged his shoulders "just saying I guess - lets just leave it at that."

"I'm sorry for all of this. I should've listened to you. I guess, I just felt...useless in a way? And that by just doing something,_ anything_, you know, would make me feel...not useless. I know, I know - its stupid but, its just how I felt."

"Kurt, okay firstly - you have absolutely _nothing_ to be sorry about, okay, nothing. I'm not going to say 'these things happen' because they don't just happen, but you're okay and you're safe and that's all that matters to me right now." He walked over from the counter he had been leaning against to be closer to his boyfriend, sitting opposite him on the bed like bench, taking his hands in both of his before he continued. "And useless? That is the last thing you are and it is the absolute last thing you should feel like you're being. The way I see it is _you_ are a strong minded person and today you felt stronger than you have been feeling lately but your body just didn't agree - definitely not useless though."

Kurt smiled softly at Blaines words of comfort and mouthed a silent 'Thank you' which Blaine returned.

"I'm going to go ring your dad and let him know what happened and that you're here." Blaine said as he stood up.

"My dad doesn't even know I'm here?" Kurt exclaimed

"Well -I've been a little bit distracted" Blaine quickly defended. "Well we can tell you're definitely feeling better now - you're already having a go at me."

"I'm not having a go at you. Tell him not to worry though please because I know he's going to once you tell him." Kurt sighed .

"He's your dad - of course he's going to worry about you but I'll try and tell him anyway." Blaine assured before wondering out into the corridor. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it before swiping his finger across the screen, scrolling to find Burts work number in his recent contacts.

"Hummel and Tyres - Can I help?" a gruff voice answered shortly after a few rings.

"Burt, It's Blaine"

"Oh Blaine - you alright there kiddo - wait, wait, is Kurt okay?" The surprise that was originally evident in his voice quickly turned to slight panic.

"Yeah yeah, well I mean, he's fine _now _but...Burt he, he passed out earlier. He was downstairs in the kitchen and as he was going back upstairs, he collapsed by the bottom of the stairs. We're at the Hospital now and his Doctor said he's fine so don't panic but I just needed to let you know"

"Okay" Burt simply said, almost in disbelief, like he couldn't believe that while he was at work, all of this had happened to his son. "What-whats going on now?"

"Well he's going to be kept in for a couple more hours and I think Doctor Rolstone is quite keen to do a blood test anyway just to double check that there isn't anything else going on because he had a little bit of a temperature earlier too but, Burt he's going to be fine - Kurts already told me to tell you to not worry too much but you know, if it makes you feel better, come down here."

"I-I...I have to finish up with this customer and then I'm going to get Eddie to manage the shop but t-tell him I'll be there as soon as I can." Burt said, slightly tripping over his words, the confusion and fear he was feeling obviously affecting his ability to speak.

"Alright then. We're in room 156 and we'll see you soon" Blaine said. He was bringing the phone away from his ear before more sound came out of the other end, causing him to bring it back towards his ear.

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"I-thank you. I'm so glad and grateful you were there" Burt said with all the deepest sincerity he could muster at that moment.

"Me too" Blaine agreed. "Burt? _Please _don't worry too much - he really is okay. We'll see you soon."

He hung up the phone and walked back towards the room. Kurt was looking around the room in wonder - there wasn't really much else to do but as soon as he heard the click of the door opening, his eyes shot towards the doorway. Before Blaine had even shut the door, he was bombarded with questions from Kurt.

"How is he? Is he okay? How did he sound?"

"Okay, one - he's okay" Blaine counted on his fingers. "Two - He sounded a little frightened to be honest. You know, I guess its just because this all happened when he wasn't there for you. He's going to get someone to cover the shop and he's on his way here after that." As Blaine finished, he noticed the slight distressed look on Kurts face. He went and sat next to him, cupping Kurts face in his hand, forcing the boy to look into his comforting eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He softly asked.

"it's just - I know my Dad and I know, even if he doesn't show it, inside - he's going to be beating himself up over this and now I just feel even more stupid because I don't want to cause him any more extra stress than we already have on our plates right now and then I just think about what if something happens to him again - I just-"

Kurts distressed rambling was silenced as soon as Blaine brought the boy into his arms, Kurts face resting against his chest. Kurt instantly calmed down as he listened to the muffled but soothing sound of Blaines heartbeat through his dark green cardigan.

"It's okay" Blaine offered. He couldn't bring himself to tell Kurt that nothing would happen to Burt because if today proved anything to him, you never can know what to expect.

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><p>As the two waited patiently in the room, they amused themselves by talking about any random topics, playfully bantering and becoming very competitive in the various games they decided to play. They were in the middle of a very tense, focused game of Slapsies - Blaine only had to move his hand away one more time before it was going to be rewarded with a free slap from Kurt and from the shade of red both of his hands were starting to turn, he really couldn't afford to move it away one more time. Suddenly, the door opened and Burt shuffled into the room and Blaine couldn't have been more thankful.<p>

"Oh well would you look at that. It looks like neither of us won - what a shame" The sarcasm so clearly evident in Blaines voice.

"You. Absolute. Coward." Kurt clearly enunciated at Blaine as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Hi Dad" His tone completely changing as he warmly greeted his father.

"Hey bud." Kurts heart instantly sank. He could just_ hear_ in his dads voice how much this had affected him and he _hated_ it.

"Dad, I-I am fine. Honestly" He attempted to assure his dad.

"What were you even doing out of bed." If there was one thing Burt didn't do, it was beat around the bush and it was obviously where Kurt had learnt it from. "I mean ever since Blaine called me and when I was driving over here, it's been the _one_ question going through my mind."

"Dad" Kurt sighed. He directed his gaze to anything around the room rather than look at Burts questioning eyes. "Please don't make me feel anymore guilty than I do right now. I-I was just getting a drink. It's not like I wanted this to happen, but it did and I'm fine now."

"I'm not ready to lose you" Burt whispered and the atmosphere of the room instantly changed.

"Dad, this - this was something _so small_ compared to what could have happened but as long as I can help it, I'm not going anywhere. Besides, if I did, who would be on your case every time you try to get something thats clearly not in your diet?" Kurt joked, attempting to lighten the intense ambience that filled the room.

Burt scoffed. "You've got Carole pretty clued up on that" He exclaimed.

Kurt laughed. He immediately had flashbacks flood back into his head as he fondly remembered going through the kitchen cupboards with Carole shortly after Burt had been released from the hospital after his heart attack, taking out the foods they both knew that Burt would want but couldn't have and sitting on the sofa with her, looking through countless recipe books as they noted what meals were completely out of bounds and what could be reworked to suit Burts new diet.

"Well someone has to be in case I'm not here to look after you." He just meant if he was ever out of the house or away on holiday somewhere. He knew what he meant, they all did but now, given everything that had happened over the last few weeks, the words unintentionally had a completely different meaning to them.

"I-I...I didn't mean it in that way - at all. I-" Kurt tripped over his words.

Feeling he was slightly intruding on a father-son moment, Blaine stood from his chair with the intention of leaving the room for a little longer than necessary, giving Burt and Kurt all the time in the world to talk.

"I'm going to go get you some water or something - do you want anything else?" He asked Kurt.

Kurt knew what Blaine was doing and so he let his eyes express the 'thank you' he didn't want to say out loud and so he replied to Blaines initial question. "No I'm okay thank you" he softly said.

"Burt can I get you a coffee or anything?"

"Yeah actually - It's alright though, I'll go and-"

"No no, I insist, let me. I know how you take it so it's fine." Blaine said and walked out of the room before he could allow Burt to change his mind.

Blaine hated how familiar the hospital was becoming to all of them. Blaine had become very familiar with the surroundings ever since Kurt had been diagnosed but he had to always remind himself to a time before Kurt was diagnosed, when the hospital had become familiar to not only his boyfriend, but to Carole and Finn as well when Burt had been stuck in a coma for nearly three weeks. He always wished that he'd met Kurt by that point, even if they weren't together, he always thought about how much he would have wanted to have been there for him at a time from when Kurt had spoken to him about it, he knew Kurt felt so alone.

As he walked back towards the room with two bottles of water under his arm and a white polystyrene cup filled with steaming coffee, Blaine almost dropped the drinks as he spotted someone at the end of the corridor. Even though he had only been in the persons presence a handful of times, the well built formidable form was instantly recognisable, even from behind and there really was no mistaking who it could be.

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><p><strong>AN - IM SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER - again(a) **

**Also there is some foreshadowing in this chapter for something that going to come much later on - I havent decided when its gonna happen but I thought of it a few nights ago and was like 'Ooooh' so watch out for it xD**

**So it's kind of my birthday tomorrow ;O - the big 18 xD so as a lovely birthday present to me, I would absolutely adore you if you just took a little bit of your time to let me know what you thought please(a) it'd be the best birthday present you guys could give me(L)**

**So yeah, please review - pretty please :D**

**Now I'm definitely aiming to have at least one more chapter up before the year is out so you can definitely expect one - its my own personal aim to have it done and I finish college next week so its all good :D Im doing butt loads of overtime at work because obviously of Christmas coming up and supermarkets are always busy - why did i choose to work in one :L but nothing will keep me from getting this next chapter wrote :)**

**Tumblr link = http:[.]/[.]theycanttouchus12.[.]tumblr.[.]com/ - obviously take out the [.]'s xD**

**Omg - Just in case I don't get this up before Christmas, Merry Christmas(L) And I hope everyone gets loadsa good presents and stuff yourselves with loads of Turkey, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and Pig in Blankets - Oh gosh I cant wait for Christmas dinner to be honest :L making me hungry just thinking about it :L**

**Right so, goodbye for now my lovelys(L)xx**


	9. Chapter 8

**Authors Note - Okay so I managed to keep my promise in getting this up before the end of the year but god I wanted this up a least a few days earlier than this but I guess I underestimated how hectic everything would be right now. Like I posted the last chapter the day before my last week of college - I'm not even exaggerating when I say if I wasn't celebrating my birthday, my dads birthday or at college and work, I was frantically finishing coursework for two subjects both due in on the last day - it's my own fault really :L and then I finished College on the 16th but then spent everyday from then on until Christmas Day at work doing overtime or extra hours on top of my normal shifts because of Christmas shop hours AND THEN inbetween all of that I had to find time to finish my Christmas shopping. Ergh Life. Has. Been. Crazy. **

**But anyways let's move on:) So thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday:) i now speak to you as an 18 year old and not 17 anymore :( but I had a lovely day and I got some really amazing things(L) I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas too and you spent it with the people who mean the most and ate loads and loads until you were absolutely stuffed ;D(L)**

**So as always, Thank you to each and every single one of you who added this to their alert or favourite list - welcome ;D and my lovely reviewers - your reviews continue to astound me and leave me grinning like an idiot for hours so thank you all so much(L) I know I must sound like a broken record but I don't think anyone will ever understand how much every email I get about reviews, alerts, author alerts etc actually mean to me:) I do it all for you guys:)**

**Im still not sure how I feel about this chapter and I'm kind of nervous posting it too :L I had this idea planned for ages and then when it actually came to writing it, I got such bad writers block so many times I honestly didn't think I would ever finish it :( I dunno, there were just parts that I wrote where I would then think "but would they say that" and just seem out of character :/ but I dunno, I just kept with it so hopefully it's okay and i stayed true to their characters:)**

**Disclaimer - Unless it's a late birthday or Christmas present or typical of the British mail system and the contracts have got lost in the post, I still don't own Glee :(**

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><p>Blaine didn't know how long he stood in the same spot for. It was like time itself had stood still - All he could focus on was the person in front of him, who had yet to see Blaine himself. Blaine didn't know what to do. He was torn as to whether he should acknowledge the fact that he did indeed see Dave Karofsky or should he just walk away and pretend he never saw the boy in the first place. It was all so overwhelming for Blaine which is why his feet had literally grounded themselves to a standstill, not allowing him to move even a single inch. He was literally less than 15 feet away from the person responsible for allowing a large part of Kurts life to be a sad, lonely, living hell for nearly 2 years and even though he knew he could never change <em>when<em> he met Kurt, Blaine had always felt a strong feeling of remorse that he wasn't able to be there for Kurt when it all started, at a time when Kurt needed someone the most.

But then Blaine had to remind himself that yes, if the fates had ever allowed it, he and Kurt may have met in some other way, whether it be at a Sectionals or Regional's competition or a chance meeting at The Lima Bean having knocked the others coffee out of the others hand and having the courtesy to offer to replace it but part of the main reason Kurt was at Dalton in the first place, the whole reason he was able to meet Kurt in the way he did, was because by that point, Kurt was just done - he was beginning to just give up. Everything that Karofsky had put Kurt through had pushed him to so far of an edge that Kurt didn't care anymore, he was okay with doing something he never would have normally done, he was okay with sneaking into a school that clearly wasn't his own, two hours away from his own.

Before his could even make a conscious decision about what to do with the opportunity that he had been presented with, Blaines feet had made the decision for him, moving him in the direction of Karofsky.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The words viciously spluttering out before he could even fathom to think about what he was going to say. Was it really any of Blaines business as to why Dave was there but he knew he couldn't exactly casually say 'Hello'.

Dave slowly turned on his heels to put a face to the voice who had just practically snarled at him in the middle of the crowded corridor. Surprised he definitely was as he realised the person the voice belonged to was Blaine. He blinked as his eyes slightly widened but he didn't walk away, nor did he turn away. He knew this was something he couldn't run away from.

"I-I'm with a friend of mine." He offered. "Bad tackle during a football match down the park - his ankle twisted nearly the whole way around. He's getting checked over by the Doctors now. What are you-are you with Kurt - is-is he here?"

"Why in Gods name would you care?" Blaine sharply said, quietly enough so only the two of them could hear.

Dave sighed. "Look, I know you don't like me-"

"Like you? 'Like you' is the biggest understatement I have ever heard. You made Kurts life a living hell for two straight years. You assaulted him in every way possible, not just physically but emotionally and mentally too - and then to top it all off, _You_ took something precious away from him, something that he should have been able to look back on and think of in a way that he would always remember, but because of you, he'll always remember that moment in the worst possible way and that is something he can never get back, something he can never change. you made him feel like he was nothing when in reality, he's three times the person you could ever hope and aspire to be and for what? Because you were too afraid to admit the truth of who you are to yourself? Like you? Blaine scoffed as his eyes darted up and down the boy in front of him." I can't _stand_ you." Blaines voice was dangerously low as he inched closer and closer to Karofsky. Everything that he had hated about Karofsky, the thoughts that had consumed a part of him for nearly two years had just been revealed in the space of less than a minute.

"I don't blame you." Dave simply said, slowly shaking his head. The shock that struck Blaine and that was then painted all over his face clearly unfazed Dave.

"You don't have to look so shocked - I'm just admitting to what we _both _know is the absolute, Gods honest truth. But, Blaine, I know you have every right not to trust me but you have to know how sorry I am, for _everything. _You know I-I think about it, quite a lot actually and I- I don't like the person I was. I know I hurt a lot of people in high school, especially Kurt..."

The genuine tone to Daves voice caused Blaine to narrow his eyes cautiously at him. Kurt had always teased Blaine about how he was the only person Kurt knew who was able to see the best in absolutely anyone and Blaine knew that even in the presence of his boyfriends tormentor, he couldn't help but consider the possibility that maybe Dave was telling the truth but the next four words brought Blaine back into his own reality.

"But I've changed now." Dave finished.

"Like I'm seriously going to believe that." Maybe Dave was sorry but Blaine wasn't ever sure the boy could change but a part of him hoped he could for his sake.

"Okay maybe not completely but I-I'm trying. You know I - I don't want to be the person I was in high school. This is the time to try and make something of myself and no one ever got anywhere in life by being an absolute prick.."

"You just sound like a bad greeting card." the words weren't even meant in a hurtful way anymore - Blaine was just so confused now. "How am I supposed to believe that you really mean all of this?"

"I'm not forcing you to believe me. I know you have every reason not to trust me. But I'm trying.

Blaine pursed his lips together as Dave shrugged at his explanation.

" Is Kurt here then?"

Blaines mind was literally all over the place. He wouldn't have been surprised to one part of his conscience in the oncology ward whilst another part of it was being screamed at by the newborn babies down on the Maternity ward, screaming at him not to trust Karofsky. Blaine had spent a long time hating him but there was a part of him that was inclined to believe a lot of what he was hearing and even if he didn't want to admit it, there was a part of Blaine that could clearly see that the person standing in front of him was a significant change from the person he had first encountered on the metal fenced enclosed staircase on a cold, November afternoon. However the mention of Kurts name grounded his thoughts back into reality, the reality of his boyfriend sitting upstairs in a hospital room with his dad after a minor scare that very same morning.

"Uh yeah - yeah he is. He should be going home in the next couple of hours though."

"Is he okay? I mean I- I heard about, well - you know..." he trailed off, unsure of how to approach the topic.

"Small town." Dave offered as he noticed the slight scrunch of Blaines eyebrows." Big news like that doesn't exactly stay quiet for too long. Plus, we only graduated a couple of months ago - for the time being, people still keep in touch"

Blaine slowly nodded his head as he realised how true that probably was. He kind of hated the idea that people were talking about Kurt, not in the way Blaine wanted people to talk about him anyway. He wanted people to talk about his boyfriend the way he did, with nothing but pride and admiration, he didn't want people talking about him because he was now 'the sick boy'.

"Can I see him?" Dave cautiously asked.

Blaines eyes widened at the proposal. His mouth opened to say the words but nothing came out.

"I'm - I'm not so sure about that. I just don't think that's a very good idea at the moment. You said so yourself - you only_ just _left high school nearly 2 months ago; I'm just not sure that dredging up the past will be the best thing for Kurt right now."

"Please, Just...just 5 minutes and I promise I'll be out of your hair."

Blaine sighed. As much as he wanted to protect Kurt, he knew this wasn't his choice to make. "I'm going to be honest with you, if things were different, I probably wouldn't even be considering this. But it's Kurts choice, not mine. Follow me. I'll ask him - you can wait outside and I'll let you know."

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><p>As Blaine walked back to Kurts room with Dave trailing at a slight distance behind him, Blaine couldn't shake the thought that maybe Karofsky thought now would be a good time to apologise for everything because of the cancer, because now there was the possibility that he now might not ever get another chance to. Whatever his reason, Blaine was just hopeful that he meant every single word he had told him earlier and that he would mean everything he would possibly say to Kurt in a few minutes. As the reached the door to the room, Blaine told Karofksy to wait outside before he went into the room, shutting the door behind him and leaving Dave all alone in the corridor.<p>

"Hey you" Kurt said as he was greeted with the welcome sight of Blaine walking back into the room and shutting the door behind him, oblivious to the fact that Karofsky was sitting right outside.

"Hi" Blaine replied as he gently pressed his lips to Kurts forehead. "Where- where did your dad go? He asked as he looked around the room in confusion as to the now half empty room, simultaneously handing Kurt the water bottle he'd bought for him. .

"Thanks" Kurt whispered. He graciously took a few sips of water before elaborating. "Eddie rung about five minutes after you had left, called Dad with some massive emergency at the shop, something to do with a huge oil spill in an engine. Dad told him to just deal with it as best as he could but I told him to just go. I know Eddie and I know he wouldn't have rung if it wasn't serious." Seconds after the sound of two muffled pats against the cotton white sheets, Blaine was lying down next to Kurt, one arm draped over his shoulder.

"I guess the coffee was a waste then" Kurt offhandedly commented as he nestled further into the warm comfort of Blaines arms and closer towards his chest.

"It's okay"

"Well _you_ could always have it. I mean, you have always been partial to a coffee ever since I've known you." Kurt teased.

Blaine smiled weakly, a faint hint of laughter escaping through his lips. "Yeah. Yeah maybe"

Kurt knew Blaine like the back of his hand and although he couldn't _see_ his boyfriends face, he could most certainly _hear_ the tone of Blaines voice that let him know that Blaine wasn't completely there with him. He shuffled backwards so that Blaine was now in his eye line. Blaine had hardly noticed the movement, instead he was staring directly behind Kurt. When Kurt glanced backwards to see that there was nothing of particular interest behind him, nothing that could possibly be distracting Blaine so much, Blaines gaze was brought down to meet Kurts as Kurts hand clasped his cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah of course" Blaine lied and of course, Kurt saw right through it.

"Blaine" The tone of voice Kurt used let Blaine knew that Kurt knew he was lying, or at least he knew that he was underplaying the truth. "You were gone quite a while?" Kurt gently suggested as his thumb caressed Blaines cheekbone.

Blaine brought a hand up to rub over his eyes as he exhaled. "Kurt I - um...when I was downstairs, I - I saw someone."

"Was it Andre Leon Talley offering me some _fabulous _internship in New York that would be pretty hard to refuse even if it meant being away from you?" Kurt dramatically said which earnt a small smile from Blaine.

"For your sake, I wish it was babe. But no it, erm..." _Just tell him - get it over and done with Blaine. Like ripping off a plaster._ "Kurt, I saw Karofsky."

Blaines cheek instantly felt cold as Kurts hand slowly slipped away from it. Kurt brought himself into a sitting position, Blaine following closely behind. It felt like minutes before Blaine was granted with some form of acknowledgement from Kurt regarding what he had just said and when he was, Kurt replied with a simple "Oh". The silence in the room was stifling but Blaine knew that Kurt was obviously at a loss for words.

"Kurt?" he softly enquired.

"Yeah." Kurt shook his head and blinked his eyelids tightly together. "Yeah urm, sorry I just - I wasn't really expecting that."

"He said he wants to see you."

"You _spoke_ to him?" Kurt questioned as he whipped his head around to face Blaine.

"I - well yeah. It was by no means friendly if that's what you're worried about. I just, I don't know - I saw him and I - something just sort of came over me I guess. I guess I just felt...defensive" Blaine shrugged.

"What even though I wasn't there?"

"Yeah, of course" Blaine said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Because every time I even _hear_ his name or see him, I can't help but think about everything you went through because of him. And I guess I got defensive to make up for the times I wasn't able to be there for you."

"That wasn't exactly your fault though, was it" Kurt reassured. "So, did he say _why _he wants to see me?" He further enquired after a moment.

"He said he wants to apologise. He says he's changed." Blaine couldn't help the slight roll of his eyes at the last part of the sentence but judging by the reluctant 'Hmm' Kurt expressed afterwards, he knew that Kurt wasn't quite convinced about the last part too. He could tell that Kurt was thinking about it though by the way he tightly pursed his lips together and how his perfectly shaped eyebrows scurried together as he bit onto his bottom lip in concentration.

"Okay" Kurt whispered, more to himself but Blaines reactions were so hypersensitive when it came to Kurt - he was aware of the slightest sounds and saw the slightest movements his boyfriend would make.

"Okay?" He echoed.

"Yeah" Kurt whispered.

"Babe are - are you sure?"

"It still hurts" Kurt clearly clarified. "You know, everything that happened in High school, it still hurts and it probably always will. You know I'll probably never be able to look at a locker without remembering how the cold metal of it feels against by back or buy a Slushie at the Mall without thinking about how one feels when its dripping down my face. And I will certainly, never forget the kiss. I'll _never_ forget what happened and how it made me feel, but, I've been _okay_ with it for a long time now. You know, I just accepted that it happened and there's nothing I can do to change it now so there's no point on dwelling on things I cant ever change when I can focus on the good stuff in my life, like you." He took a hold of Blaines hand and rubbed soft circles onto the back of it with his thumb. "But, maybe - maybe this will be some kind of closure."

And there he was. Sitting right in front of him was the boy Blaine had fallen in love with. Zigging one way when Blaine was so sure he would go another way: Kurt never failed to surprise Blaine. Here his boy was, prepared to attempt a civilised conversation with a person who physically, verbally and emotionally abused him for so long and Blaine couldn't have felt more proud. The admiration he felt for Kurt in that moment was impossible to hide from his face. "Have I ever told you how amazing I think you are?"

Kurt flashed a flirty smile towards his boyfriend. "Hmm once or twice but it never hurts to hear again" he winked.

"Well in that case - " Blaine clasped Kurts face in both of his hands as he leant forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "You-" His lips travelled south towards to meet the softness of his left cheek. "Are-" Moving across to plant a tender kiss to Kurts right cheek. "Amazing." He brought his lips lower, instantly connecting with Kurts. As they pulled away, Kurt placed one of his own hands over Blaines which was still clasping his own face.

"I love you for being so protective over me though, for things that happened nearly two years ago - things that happened before I even _knew_ you. That classifies you as pretty amazing too." Kurt smiled as he brought their intertwined hands to rest in between them.

"I've never told you this but, it _still_ breaks my heart to think about the way you looked sitting at that table? At Dalton. Our first_ real _conversation...based around him. You know, it wasn't innocent flirting because as I recall Mr Hummel, you did look particularly beautiful that day, but then again, you do every day-" They both laughed softly and Kurt still wondered how after all this time, Blaine could still make him blush. "But seriously" Blaine continued "We didn't speak about the films we'd seen recently, you didn't mock the music I listen to, I didn't find out _anything_ about you other than how hurt, lonely and unnoticed you felt because of him. I'll never forget your face that day and I don't think I can _ever _forgive him for that Kurt."

"You don't have to forgive him" Kurt said with such certainty and understanding. "Maybe this will be good for both of us then. Maybe we can both get some closure out of this."

"I'm not going to stay in the room with you" Blaine revealed after a while. Kurt opened his mouth to protest but before he could string his words together, Blaine interjected. "I just think this is something better dealt with between you and him. Unless you want me to stay, because you know I will. In a heartbeat."

Kurt smiled affectionately at Blaine. "No. No I understand where you're coming from. And I think you're right." Kurt fiddled with Blaines fingertips before looking up. "Is he - " He asked as he gestured towards the door to which Blaine simply nodded. Kurt exhaled the deep breath he hadn't even realised he had been holding before nodding. Blaine knew this was Kurts way of telling him he was ready and so he shuffled off of the bed and opened the door and slipped out of it.

Kurt decided to focus his attention to the clock on the wall to the side of him, anything that distracted him from what he was about to do. He wasn't certain if this would ever be a good idea and he knew that if Burt was still here with him right now, that he would in no way be doing this but he knew it was something he had to do, for his sake. 47 seconds. He watched the hand of the clock that counted the seconds tick 47 times before he heard the click of the door unlocking, the creak the hinges made as the door was swung open to reveal Blaine. And Dave Karofsky. Dave cautiously inched further and further into the room as Blaine went straight to Kurts side. The awkward silence could have been sensed from over the other side of the Hospital as none of them quite knew what to do or say.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Blaine whispered to Kurt. Kurt simply nodded as he reached for his hand, squeezing it in reassurance, to which Blaine returned the nod in understanding. "I'm going to be right outside if you need me okay." He clarified.

"Thank you" Kurt quietly answered. Blaines hand gently slipped away from his as he started to walk away. Kurt didn't miss the slight glare Blaine directed in Karofskys direction as he passed him but he knew that after their talk, that it was in no means menacing or vicious. As Blaine was standing in the threshold of the doorway, he clarified a final time through silent hand gestures that he would indeed, be outside if Kurt ever needed him before closing the door, leaving Kurt and Karofsky the only two people in the room.

"Hi" Dave said, effectively breaking the awkward silence between the two of them.

"Hi" Kurt replied after a few moments. "I didn't think our paths would ever cross again after graduation."

"I take it that that wouldn't have been necessarily a bad thing?" Dave asked.

"I didn't say that" Kurt clarified. "But it wouldn't have exactly been the worst thing in the world, if I'm honest."

"I don't blame you."

Kurt didn't know how to reply to that. He was quite literally lost for words and Kurt Hummel was rarely ever rendered speechless. He just couldn't quite comprehend all of this. This boy standing awkwardly in front of him was not the same person he had come to know in High School. That he could clearly see already. Karofsky was being polite and straightforward and almost acknowledging the wrongdoings of his past. Kurt released an immense sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

"Look, I know I said you could come see me but really, what are you doing here Karofsky?"

"I don't really know, I guess I just wanted to see how you were? You know I-I heard about everything and I-"

"Ahh so is_ that _what this is all about?" Kurt interrupted. "You heard I was sick and suddenly you grew a conscience, started feeling guilty about everything and now you feel the need to apologise. Well you don't have to pretend to care."

"I'm not pretending." Those three words threw Kurt as he jerked his head backwards in surprise. "Look, I know I put you through a lot in High School and I know I said a lot to you, done a lot of things to you, stuff that was _completely_ unacceptable and god know I deserved all of those locker slams and Slushie facials more than you ever did, but you _don't_ deserve this Kurt, and whether you want to believe me or not, I am genuinely sorry that this is happening to you."

Kurt remembered a time in his life when he often thought about how if he ever had the chance to say anything to Karofsky, it would be anything but nice words leaving his mouth. But now, nothing - no words at all were escaping his mouth.

"I-I...Thank you" he stuttered.

"Look I-I've said what I wanted to say so I think maybe I-I should just go." Karofsky suggested, more to himself than to Kurt. "I should probably get back to my friend anyway - His X-rays are probably over by now." He turned around before pausing and turning back. "I really do hope you fight this Kurt. I know we were never friends but I know you're a tough person. I _know_ you can do this." As he turned to walk out, he was stopped by _the_ burning question.

"Why?" He heard Kurt ask. He slowly turned back to find Kurt staring at him.

"I-I told you why" Dave said, confused at the question.

"Not why you're _here_ David. _Why_ did you do all those things to me? You know I still have a mark on my back from the constant locker slams. I think I'm kind of entitled to an explanation as to why I could hardly ever go a day during Sophomore and Junior year without my back saying hello to the lockers each day as if they were long lost friends. So why?" He shrugged.

"I don't know." Dave softly said as he shuffled back further into the room. "I guess it started off as a popularity thing. You know, I was a football player, you weren't. it was kind of what was expected and ,you know if I just did whatever they expected of me, then I would still be considered cool. And-"

"What about when it was just you though? I've had a lot of time to think about this and, I mean, I thought you were just carrying on for the fun of it, but then when you kissed me, I figured that maybe you weren't doing it just for kicks anymore and maybe you were projecting your frustration of the situation onto someone who has already lived it. Am I right?" Kurt questioningly tilted his head to the side.

Dave didn't answer immediately. "I think maybe you are. In fact, you're probably right" Dave shrugged after a while. "About the kiss, Kurt I-you have to know how sorry I am about that. I didn't ever plan for that to happen."

"Well I'm not saying I deserved it or that you had the right to, but I know I did kind of provoke you that day."

"But you had _every_ right to confront me. I most certainly didn't have to right to do what I did."

A silence passed between the two boys but it was no longer awkward because in the last five minutes, Kurt had developed a greater understanding of Dave.

"So how are, you know, coping with everything?" Kurt tentatively asked. "If you don't mind me asking that is" he quickly added.

"I'm actually okay." Kurt could have sworn he saw the faintest smile on Karofskys lips. "I'm slowly coming to terms with it but I'm more okay with it now. But I want to make sure I'm one hundred percent sure before I even _think_ about telling other people."

"That's understandable" Kurt nodded. "Well look, I think we _both_ know that we are far from ever being best friends or something but I can see you're somewhat different now so you know, If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here."

"I think you have bigger things on your plate to deal with Kurt don't you?" Dave smiled. "But I'll definitely keep it in mind. thank you Kurt."

The two nodded in mutual understanding before suddenly, Karofsky was gone and Kurt was suddenly all alone in the room again.

As he heard the click of the door, Blaine stopped his incessant foot tapping against the immaculate white floor as he looked up from where he was sitting directly outside of the room to find Dave standing at the door.

"Don't worry - he's still in one piece." Dave joked but when Blaines facial expression remained unimpressed, Dave quickly apologised.

"Listen, thank you again for bringing me here Blaine. I know you didn't have to and I-I really appreciate it." Blaine nodded in acknowledgement. He didn't really know what to say so he just thought it best maybe not to say anything. Dave took Blaines silence as his cue to go and so he offered a limp wave of his hand before walking down the corridor and out of Kurt and Blaines lives once again. Blaine wasted no time in rushing back into the room.

"Hey"

"Hey" Kurt warmly said as he grinned widely. Blaine didn't wait this time for the two pats against the bed before making his way over to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Kurt as he made himself comfortable next to him.

"How was it?" Blaine asked before placing a kiss into Kurts hair, continuing to run his fingers through it.

"Mmm" Kurt hummed in nothing but contentment. He loved nothing more than being close to Blaine. "It was fine. It was a little awkward to start with but it was okay in the end, it wasn't anything like I thought it would be. He actually seemed really genuine." Kurt said against Blaines chest, the words slightly muffled as the sound travelled straight into the thick cotton of Blaines green cardigan.

"And are you okay?" Blaine questioned.

"Yeah." Kurt said with certainty "Yeah, I am. Are you okay now? Hopefully you should have some comfort now in knowing that I can be in the same room as him and remain unharmed?" He joked

"If you're okay, then I'm always okay." Blaine said with certainty. Kurt wasn't just Blaines 'Other half' in the sense of referring to him as his partner, but he was emotionally his other half too. Blaine felt, lived and breathed everything Kurt felt, lived and breathed, as if they were one person. Without him, Blaine felt incomplete and so If Kurt really was fine, then the other half of Blaine would always be fine too.

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><p><strong>A.N - don't hate me :( I'm literally posting this before I go to work yano :L I didn't want to wait until tomorrow:)<strong>

**Like i said, I still don't really know how I feel about this chapter but I'm like SUPER excited about the next one ;D don't get your hopes up it's nothing major but I will give you a little inkling by saying I am introducing another original character who has something in common with Kurt - I shall leave it to you to guess as to what it could be:) but if you go back to the chapter actually named 'Chapter 3' in my authors note I wrote about this so see, this has been brimming away in my head since September! :D**

**I think what threw me so much with this chapter is how close I wanted to stay to the Kurt/Karofsky relationship from the show because obviously my story is loosely based off canon so basically in my head, I've come up with that everything in the show happened and the Bullywhips was still created which is why Katofsky left Kurt alone from then on but the two never developed the understanding like they did in Born This Way, Prom Queen and The First Time so everything was still a bit frosty**

**Now I do have two super important January exams when i go back to college - one on the 10th and the second on the 27th so I am gonna try my best to keep my writing going but just in case the next chapter is a bit delayed, you know why :)**

**So just to let me know you're still with me and not going to abandon me anytime soon, I would seriously appreciate it if you could take a little bit of your time to just drop me a review please:) they really do make my day(L)**

**Tumblr link is http:[.]/[.]theycanttouchus12.[.]tumblr.[.]com/ - obviously take out the [.]'s xD**

**So just before I go, seeing as it's the end of the year, I just wanna say thank you all so much for reading this to all of you who have been with me from the beginning and stuck it out with me and to those of you who joined later on - I love each and every one of you:) I honestly can't believe I've actually wrote 9 Chapters and 42,639 words later, here we are :) I hoped I would be able to do this but I never really thought I would get this far and here's to plenty more chapters in the new year:)**

**See you next year my lovelys(L)xx**


	10. Chapter 9

**Authors Note - PLEASE DONT GIVE UP ON ME! My god I am so, SO sorry for how _long_ it's been - I'm so glad i warned you all before though about my exams, like with them, coursework, college in general and going to work, it's just been crazy - I had one exam on the 10th so I spent every minute revising for that and as soon as that one was over, I had to start all my revision for the second one which was yesterday afternoon but they were my only two so IM BACK:) I booked this week off work so that I could focus on my exam and then because my exam finished yesterday afternoon and I didnt have to go to work during the evening, I came home and finished this :) But seriously, this story will not be abandoned so don't worry - I'm still here:) But this chapters 6,327 words so thats good right - a nice long chapter as an apology:)**

**So you know what's coming around here - Thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed this story - I will never stop being grateful towards you all(L)**

**So i've been really excited to write this chapter since September so I hope you like it too! It's not even anything major - I just love Kurts scene in the hospital (I don't wanna say anything else to spoil it cause I want you to go read it for yourself) :) but that's another reason why this chapter is up seriously late because exams did get in the way and i wanted to take my time with this chapter and enjoy writing it without having to rush it because I've been thinking about it for so long so yeah, I hope you like it:) I really like this chapter actually and I'm definately much happier with it compared to the last chapter which im still dissapointed with :(**

**I think a lot of my britishness might have come out in this Chapter - Like the 'A' road and Whinfell Park so sorry about that :)  
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**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee or Whinfell Park but I do own the original Character in this chapter and I love him so I hope you do too(L)**

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><p>The subsequent weeks following Kurts impromptu hospital visit had passed by swimmingly. Everyone was more than satisfied that there had been no retreats back and when they weren't pleasantly bombarded with their friends visiting, Kurt and Blaine spent most of their day's curled up on the sofa watching pointless daytime television or alternating in their choice of a DVD. For about a week, Kurt developed a craze for playing "Rummy" after Blaine had suggested it one day. Kurt had never played it before but by their sixth round, Blaine wished he had never taught him as he was shouting "Rummy" triumphantly in nearly every round with Blaine claiming he was "just lucky". Blaine had even heard from David who called him to let him know that he was back in Ohio and was intending to visit both him and Kurt as soon as he was settled back in. Burt and Carole begrudgingly still had to go to work but they made it an absolute necessity to spend any spare minute with their son and making sure that he had absolutely everything he needed to be comfortable. Kurt continued on with taking the tablets that he had been prescribed and just as Doctor Rolstone had told him in their first meeting, the side effects didn't fully subside - he still woke up the occasional morning having to regurgitate the contents of his stomach but it was no where near as bad as it was in the first week. Life felt pretty normal again for these few weeks but quicker than they realised, it was time for Kurts second round of Chemotherapy.<p>

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><p>"I <em>told<em> you we could have got away with leaving at ten past" Kurt protested as he opened the passenger door, stepping out into the warm, July atmosphere, with the sun making everyone feel the impact of the searing heat it was relentlessly giving off from thousands of miles away.

"And I told _you_ that your Dad already told me this morning that the A34 road is closed because of that huge accident this morning and probably will be for another few hours. He saw on the news that the truck involved is still toppled over and the last thing we need is for you to miss your appointment just because we had to find a way of getting around it" Blaine defended.

"I _know_ but I'm just saying that we could have easily got here for half ten in twenty minutes and now we have ages until our appointment - they probably won't even be ready for us yet."

"Well you know what you have that no one else does that will make the time go quicker, don't you?" Blaine teased as they approached the reception doors that parted gracefully for them.

"What?" Kurt asked cautiously as he played along

"Me" Blaine grinned as he playfully nudged against Kurts side.

"Oh wow, you're just the definition of humble aren't you? But I guess you'll do" Kurt teased as they neared the Check In desk.

"Oh Hi Kurt, Blaine" Debbie warmly greeted them as she spotted them walking towards her, obviously recognising them from the previous time they had been standing at the very same desk as Kurt recognized her as the woman who checked them in before, although he didn't know her name yet but he figured he probably would soon enough. "You're a bit early aren't you?" she said as she squinted at the clock on the wall.

"_Yes_, we are." Blaine didn't even have to turn his head to know that Kurt was indirectly talking to and about him. He didn't have to turn his head to see the look Kurt was sending his way - he could see it crystal clear in his head.

"Well I'm sorry that I didn't want you missing your appointment."

Debbie ducked her head as she laughed softly at the playful banter between them. She always found it inspiring when patients would walk through those doors and not be overwhelmed by the cancer and they could still be them, not forgetting everything that made them that person.

"Steph is just with another patient right now so do you both just want to take a seat in the waiting area while you wait? She should be finished within the next ten to fifteen minutes or so and I'll let her know you're here once she is."

"Okay, Thank you" Blaine politely replied before turning to Kurt. "Babe, do you want to just go sit down and I'll be back soon?" he suggested as he gently guided Kurt towards the open plan, fairly empty waiting area to the side of the reception desk.

"Wait what - why, where are you going?" Kurt inquired as they edged their way closer towards the chairs.

"I'm going to go pick you up some things for you to read during your session seeing as we forgot your magazines at home and I'll pick us up a couple of drinks as well while I'm there. Also, I really, _really_ need to pee" Blaine admitted to which Kurt playfully rolled his eyes.

"Well then you better go then hadn't you? You don't want the nurses mistaking you for being incontinent and then admitting you onto the ward with all of the elderly patients with the same problem." Kurt winked

"Oh because you are _so_ hilarious aren't you?" Blaine cooed teasingly.

"I am actually" Kurt said with a wide, amused grin on his face. "Go on, get out of here - I'll see you in a minute."

"You going to be okay?" Blaine checked and Kurts heart still fluttered at how protective Blaine was over him even for something as minor as going to the shop.

"I think I'll manage" Kurt smiled. Blaine closed the slight distance between them by pressing a sweet kiss to his cheek before walking away. Kurt turned on his heel to face the room and it was only then that he acknowledged then that the waiting room was practically empty, except for one person who sat quietly, looking down into his lap. As Kurt acknowledged the boy more, he realised that he was sitting in a wheelchair and not on the plastic row of chairs as he thought he had been. Kurt noticed that although his deathly pale skin made him look older than he was, he didn't look much younger than Kurt and he assumed that the boy couldn't have been much older than Seventeen. His head was completely bald, not even a single patch of hair visible to the naked eye. Kurt felt a pang of something in that moment that he just couldn't quite describe - was it sadness, or remorse or just plain fear that he was staring at what could be in store for him. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the intermittent buzzing from his pocket.

**From Blaine**

_Okay I've got you 3 magazines and two bottles of water - is there anything else you might want?xx_

Kurt started to move forward towards the chairs as he typed out a quick reply to Blaine asking him if he could possibly pick him up a little snack for later. He was so distracted that the wheelchair was nearer to him than he realised and he only noticed that he had bumped into it as the arm rest harshly collided with the top of his thigh.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry! Jeez I-Sorry I completely wasn't looking" Kurt rambled as he apologised profusely.

"I can see that" The boy said with a smirk on his face.

"I just, Oh god - I really am, I'm so sorry."

"Well maybe if you hadn't been so distracted by your phone, which you shouldn't even have on in here as they have serious effects on the hospital equipment" The boy gently teased

"That rule is such rubbish you know - it doesn't have any effect on the equipment, at least, it doesn't on _this _ward anyway."

"No I know, I'm just messing with you" The boy smiled, a smile in which Kurt returned.

"I really am sorry though" he clarified as he took up a seat next to the boy.

"You seriously apologise a hell of a lot don't you" The boy said, seeming quite amused at this whole exchange. "Its okay though, really. Besides, you're not going to be the one to kill me so don't worry."

"Well that's comforting, I guess?" Kurt said, not really knowing how to answer such a bold statement as that and so he settled for small talk. "I'm Kurt by the way" Kurt said as he extended a hand out to the boy.

"Seth" the boy replied as he graciously enclosed his hand around Kurts and gave it a slight shake.

As the two continued the hand shake, Kurt couldn't shake the niggling thought at the back of his head that this boy looked incredibly familiar to him. But he couldn't have known him - Kurt had never known of a Seth his entire life, but as he carried on looking at the boy, the thought just wouldn't go away. He_ had _to ask.

"Okay this might sound _completely_ crazy but, it's just you just look really familiar" Kurt said and as he finished the sentence, he couldn't help but think that Seth would probably think he was in actual fact, absolutely crazy.

"What even looking like this?" Seth teased and Kurts eyes narrowed as he desperately tried to recall where he could have seen Seth before. "I'll give you a clue - I go to Westvale, well, I used to anyway."

Kurt slightly gasped in realisation as he realised that yes, he had seen this boy before and he knew exactly where he had seen him too. "You were in Aural Intensity."

"The very same. You remember competing against us at Regionals last year then?" Kurt nodded.

"I think with a song like 'Jesus is a Friend of Mine', I won't be forgetting that performance anytime soon." Kurt teased which elicited a laugh from Seth.

"Yeah I'm not surprised that we came third" Seth confessed as he reminisced. "I feel sorry for the McKinley lot though - we only had Coach Sylvester for three - maybe four weeks and I just can't even begin to describe what it was like."

"I think I can imagine to be honest." When Seth looked at him, Kurt realised that Seth had seen him perform with the Warblers, not with the New Directions. "I went to McKinley." he clarified. "I transferred to Dalton for a few months and then went back. You know she called me Porcelain for two years straight."

"Are you being serious?" Seth asked incredulously and when Kurt confirmed this with a single nod of his head, the two burst into a fit of hysterics.

"You know, I guess it's safe to say this now that you're not my competition anymore but The Warblers were insanely good."

"Well I guess seeing as you're not my competition anymore either and although your song choice was questionable, you guys weren't so bad yourself."

"Ah well thank you. The boy you were with earlier, that was the same boy that you sung the duet with, wasn't it?"

Kurt was always weary of discussing his and Blaines relationship in front of new people. Not because he was ashamed, quite the opposite - Kurt loved Blaine with everything he possessed and he could never hide the person he was so proud and grateful to have in his life, but he hated the looks some people would give them. The looks were hurtful, judgemental on something they knew nothing about. But Kurt had a feeling about Seth. He'd only known the boy for about five or so minutes but the boy had put Kurt at such an ease that he felt comfortable in affirming Seths question that yes, Blaine was the boy he sung the duet with at the 2011 Regionals competition and that Blaine was now his boyfriend and not just 'the boy he sung the duet with' because Blaine was more than that.

When Seth just simply smiled in acknowledgement, Kurt knew that his initial instincts had been right. "Well it definitely looks like you've got a keeper there" Seth continued and if he could've taken a picture of Kurt's face right then, he would not have hesitated. "I'm not gay, don't worry - straight as a ruler me."

"Oh I thought I was going to have some competition then." Kurt playfully bantered.

"Oh well you know, there's always time for me to change my mind" he quipped in return. "No but seriously, when you guys walked in, I heard you before I saw you but when I looked at you both, I just instantly knew who you both were because you both still had the same looks on your faces you had back at Regionals, just like, content and so happy to be with each other."

Kurt pursed his lips together as he smiled brightly as he listened to how his relationship looked from an outsiders point of view, and even he had to admit it sounded pretty darn cute.

"How long have you been together now then?" Seth inquired.

"One year and 8 and a half months" Kurt proudly said.

Seth held his arms out either side of him as if to gesture 'there we go'. "See, totally perfect for each other - I told you I could see it. My longest relationship only lasted 3 and a half months. It was with this girl, Rosie and everything was good but then her family had to relocate to Washington because her Dad got a promotion that was based there and we tried to keep the relationship going and it worked for a while but long distance is just _so hard_. We both just agreed that maybe it wasn't meant to be." Seth sombrely admitted.

Kurt didn't know how to respond to that. He knew he could give sound advice on rejection and unreturned feelings but not break ups. He and Blaine had never even taken so much as a break let alone broken up altogether. But Kurt and Blaine had made their long distance relationship work and any problems they ever did have, they always agreed on working through together. Blaine was his first boyfriend, first love, first everything but he certainly didn't want Blaine to be his first break-up as well. He was in this for the long haul. "Well you know, you're still young so you have plenty of time to find that special someone" he offered.

Seth scoffed. "Yeah I'm - I'm not so sure that is going to happen." Kurt noticed the change of tone in his voice and if he had perceived it correctly, to him it sounded much like defeat.

"What'd you mean?" He wearily questioned.

Seth exhaled deeply. "You know, I've been in and out of this place so many times for the last three years that now, I don't need people to tell me that they're ill too. I know you're here for the same reason I am - " Kurts broke the eye contact the two of them had been holding moments before, his eyes directing their attention downwards as he suddenly felt slightly awkward "- which is why I feel comfortable enough telling you this. Basically erm - my cancer has spread to more of my organs since my last check up 3 weeks ago and they said that it's spread into my pancreas and now that its there, there's literally nothing they can do - not even intense rounds of Chemotherapy can cure it now."

Kurt felt as though someone had punched all of the air out of him. His chest suddenly constricted tightly and his open mouthed expression revealed more than words could ever manage to. He was not expecting that. Yes, he knew that Seth looked very ill but he hadn't ever expected to hear that he was basically dying.

"I've probably scared you now haven't I - I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"No no its okay - well it's not okay but, gosh I just - " Kurt frantically shook his head as he tried to find the right words to say. "Why are you by yourself right now - where are your parents? Are you okay? _God __Kurt__ are you stupid, of course he's not okay _he thought to himself. "That is probably the most stupidest question, I'm sorry I just - "

"Kurt" Seth promptly interrupted, quickly silencing Kurts frantic rambling. "It's okay - There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers and so in answer to your first question, I told my parents I just wanted a few minutes alone to myself so they're upstairs and then in answer to your_ not _stupid question, I'm okay now, I guess. To be honest, I've kind of been preparing myself for something like this to happen for a long time now and now, now I'm just tired."

Kurts eyes narrowed as he felt in those seconds that there was something that Seth hadn't told him but he was not going to pressure him into telling him anything he didn't want to so he just stayed silent but Seth had already expressed earlier that he trusted Kurt because they were both in a similar situation - Kurt had an inkling into how he might feel and so without a second thought, Seth continued to elaborate.

"This is my second round of cancer. I was diagnosed with Leukaemia when I was fourteen. I remember just not feeling right for weeks, I didn't quite know what was wrong but I thought it was nothing - I just kept taking Ibuprofen every day for two weeks until my mum decided that enough was enough and so we went to the Doctors and before he'd even took the blood tests, he took one look at me and it was like he just _knew_ but he couldn't exactly come right out and say what he was thinking because he had no official evidence to prove it because the blood test results hadn't come back. Anyway, he referred me here and that was when we found out. I eventually ended up having 7 months of a combined treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and then they officially declared me in remission on the 10th May 2010. Everything was great and life went on as normal but then less than a year later, I ended up relapsing and they immediately told me it was worse than the first time but they were still hopeful but now-" Seth shrugged his shoulders as he didn't quite know how to finish the sentence. "I could still go to school when I was diagnosed the first time because it was such a mild cancer that it affected me but with treatment, I could still live a regular life but then when it came back - you know it was shortly after the competition actually - around two months after, but when it came back, it was just like a hurricane, on a mission and _nothing_ could stop it. I eventually had to be taken out of school and be home schooled by a tutor my parents hired because there were some days where I just could barely get up out of bed and some days I'd be up and about but just vomiting every hour or so from the Chemo, so going to school was completely out of the question. I should probably just stop talking shouldn't I - you've got enough to worry about without having to listen to the burden that is my life story."

"No don't be silly I just, the first thing I thought about you was how surprisingly upbeat you are and I just - were you ever scared?"

Seth nodded. "Every single day. But can I offer you some advice Kurt - this might be one of the last good things I do" he teased but considering the change in the atmosphere surrounding the two of them, Seth quickly retorted "Sorry, bad joke. But Kurt, don't let this take over your life - that's the worst thing you could ever do. Don't let it define who you are."

Kurt was about to reply when suddenly Blaine came bursting into the waiting area, slightly out of breath and tightly clutching a carrier bag in his hand.

"I am so sorry. The toilets near the shop were out of order so I had to find another one and I've literally spent a good ten minutes trying to find my way back up here. This place can be a real maze sometimes. I just bumped into Steph on my way in though and she's ready for us now so, you ready to go?"

"What – I, erm, oh – yeah okay" Kurt could barely even process everything Blaine had just said to him. His mind was literally all over the place right now. He profusely rubbed his forehead, as if by doing that would help him think straight in some way.

"Sorry erm, Blaine this is Seth" Kurt managed to say as he gestured towards Seth. "Seth, this is my boyfriend Blaine, who I was telling you about earlier."

"Ah you were talking about me were you?" Blaine teased as he stepped closer to Seth to shake his hand.

"All good things he said, don't worry" Seth quipped. "It's nice to meet you Blaine."

"Yeah, you too man" Blaine replied, his charming smile existent on his face. "Kurt, I'm sorry but we really do have to go."

"Okay. Yeah let me just-" he started to say as he stood up, straightening himself out and the invisible creases that had gathered after sitting down for that period of time. He turned around to face Seth and once again, words failed him. None of the usual greetings one would say on departure felt appropriate to Kurt at this point – he knew he couldn't say 'See you soon' or 'have a nice day' because he knew and Seth knew that neither of those two were very likely and he knew that it was very unlikely that he would be seeing Seth anytime soon. Seth could read Kurts expression easily though. After three long years, he was used to peoples stunned silences.

"It's okay Kurt – go" he said, smiling encouragingly. "So, I might not see you again so really, good luck with everything and it was really cool to finally meet you." Kurt smiled sadly.

"You too Seth." He opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it. He walked over towards Blaine and desperately took his hand and squeezed it tightly in his, like he just needed some form of contact with his boyfriend, to feel close to him in any way possible after hearing everything he had just heard. This didn't go unnoticed by Blaine. As they turned to walk away, they were stopped by the sound of Seths voice calling Kurts name.

"Remember Kurt, don't let this define who you are" he said with a conclusiveness tone to his voice to which Kurt nodded in acceptance and turned back around.

Steph, who had been waiting for the two of them at the Reception desk, brightly expressed her joy at seeing the two of them again, although she had already seen Blaine minutes before and led them down the corridor.

"That boy, Seth – he seemed quite nice" Blaine commented as they followed behind Steph, still hand in hand.

"Yeah, yeah he was." Kurt replied sadly. He would tell Blaine everything later, just not right now. As Kurt went through the same process as he had done four weeks before, the needle that was tightly fastened to the cannula gently sliding underneath the surface of his skin, the IV slowly drooping down the translucent tube and into his bloodstream, he couldn't help but think about Seth, knowing that Seth had been through the exact same process he was going through right this second and it hadn't worked for him - what if it didn't work for Kurt? He remembered the conversation he and Blaine had had that night in the garden, the night before his first treatment session

_"Its just scary, you know. The doctors will tell you about the success stories, but they don't ever tell you about the people who aren't fortunate enough to make it" _

_"Then don't think about either of them. Everyone will react differently to the treatment and yeah, some people __aren't__ lucky enough to survive, but that __doesn't__, not for one second, mean that that's __going to__ happen to you too."_

Sure it had been fairly easy to try and not to think about it but now Kurt had _seen _someone whose treatment hadn't worked, he had met them and interacted with them - this was now on a completely different level and as he sat silently in the room, Blaine next to him engrossed in the days newspaper he had bought earlier, Seths departing words "I might not see you again" were like a bad song in Kurts head, replaying over and over in his head and he couldn't get them out, no matter how hard he tried.

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><p>"Penny for you thoughts?" Blaine said as the silence in the car, although comfortable was stifling to him - it wasn't like Kurt to be quiet for this long and he hated it - the sound of Kurts voice was one of lifes pleasures to him and so going without it for an extended period of time was like <em>torture<em>. Kurt was staring aimlessly out of the passenger window and barely registered what Blaine had asked him. "Kurt. What are you thinking about babe?"

"Hmm?" he murmured as he turned to face Blaine.

"What are you thinking about?" he repeated. "You've been really quiet nearly all day now and the only times you're quiet like this are when you're annoyed at someone or you're thinking about something, and I don't think I've done anything wrong I hope so I'm taking it as the latter option."

"God, you're good" Kurt smirked.

"It's my job to know you inside out" Blaine winked.

"Do you fancy going for a walk?" Kurt asked which surprised Blaine.

"I mean I'd love to but shouldn't we really get you back home?"

Kurt assured him that an hour wouldn't hurt and compromised with Blaine that he would be sure to let him know and that if at any point he felt a even a slight twinge of weakness of tiredness, they could sit down and so Blaine agreed. They drove along the roads and Kurt realised they were nearing Whinfell Park and so he requested that they go there. Whinfell Park would always hold a special place in Kurts heart and he had no doubt that it held a similar position in Blaines.

_It was nearing the end of the Christmas Break and Blaine was home from University. The two had just spent the afternoon at Kurts house, simply revelling in __each others__ company. Deciding to make the most of the fresh downpour of snow that wrapped everything up in its soft white blanket, they took a stroll down to Whinfell Park. Somehow the snow managed to make everything better, brighter and more __beautiful__ - There was something about the winter season that just made everything that little bit better and as they walked hand in hand, their footprints __crunching__ in the snow leaving imprints of their presence, neither of them could keep the smiles off of their faces. He had no idea how it had happened but their hands became unclasped but the contact wasn't missing for long as Blaine spun Kurt around, slipping one of his arms around his waist, pulling him flush against him. Kurt was instantly hypnotized by Blaines intense gaze, as if all the love he felt for Kurt and more was written all over his face. They both just stared at __each other__ in the silence of the day, silently conveying the message of "How am I so lucky to have you" through their intense eyes and bashful smiles. But Kurt was __abruptly__ pulled out of his daze as his head suddenly felt instantly colder, shards of ice clinging to his hair strands and snow that had melted into a single drop of water rolled down his cheek. He pursed his lips together, shaking his head in disbelief. _

"_You. Are. So. Dead. Anderson." He clearly emphasised to which Blaine simply laughed at. Kurt scoffed playfully at his blasé reaction. Blaine moved their two bodies even closer, so close that his lips were slightly ghosting Kurts, his warm breath making Kurts lips tingle with anticipation. _

"_I don__'__t think so Hummel__"__ he whispered. _

_As much as he wanted to close the distance between them, Kurt still had an act to keep up and he was __adamant__ that he wouldn't crack. __"__And why is that?__"_

_"Because you love me"_

_Kurt cocked an eyebrow as he narrowed an eye. "Are you sure about that?"_

_Blaine nodded his head as he leaned in closer. "Absolutely positive" he whispered before his lips melted against Kurts, the warmness and fluttering feeling it gave the two of them allowing them to forget the cold snap they were standing in the midst of. _

_"And I love you too. Always" Blaine said as he pulled away slightly, but his lips were soon back against Kurts. _

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong yet?" Blaine softly asked, tugging gently at Kurts hand as encouragement as they walked hand in hand through the luscious green field, leading them towards the perfectly aligned row of tall, oak trees. The branches bustling with crisp green leaves, dancing gracefully in the wind.

"I just - I can't stop thinking about Seth." Kurt admitted.

"Seth?" Blaine pondered thoughtfully. "Oh, the boy from earlier?" His question was confirmed as Kurt shook his head. "Yeah you two seemed to be getting along quite well."

"Yeah but - Blaine, he's - he's dying" Kurt whispered but Blaine heard perfectly well. It was as if the word 'dying' had sent a shockwave to his brain, telling him to stop walking because his feet were firmly attached to the ground and he couldn't move anywhere, not even a step forward.

"I'm sorry - what?" he said as he turned to face Kurt.

Kurt closed his eyelids tightly as he regained himself, before taking a deep breath and allowing his ice blue eyes to meet the worrying, curious gaze of the hazel ones that had yet to look away from him. "That's what we were talking about before you came in. He got told today that his cancer has spread to his pancreas and now that it's there, there's literally nothing they can do - not even chemotherapy can save him now. He's dying Blaine" Kurt repeated and Blaine could hear the slight crack in his voice.

"Okay, okay shush, hold on a second" he whispered in an attempt to soothe Kurt. Still holding his hand, Blaine guided them to make the final steps towards the tree and gently pulled the both of them down. Normally Kurt would be reluctant on sitting on the bare ground where his clothes would be at mortal danger from the grass and earth stains but Kurt made no complaints today and Blaine knew that was the least of his worries right now. Blaine sat against the bark and pulled Kurt to sit in between his legs, his arms instinctively wrapping themselves tightly around Kurts waist and his chin dipped onto Kurts shoulder.

"Okay, start from the beginning."

Blaine had just given him permission to let the wall that Kurt had been holding up for the last few hours crumble down around him and he couldn't stop now.

"He's dying Blaine. He's 17 and he's dying. He is_ exactly _like me, a teenager diagnosed with Leukaemia who's main hope of survival was the success of the Chemotherapy, but it hasn't worked for him. What if it doesn't work for me? What if that's me in a few months time? When I spoke to him and when I looked at him, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I could be looking at my future and - and I _hated_ it because now I'm just so scared, more scared then I ever have been before and he just looked so ill and tired and-"

Blaine could tell that Kurt was getting hysterical as he could feel his chest rising up and down quicker than normal, his shoulders slightly shaking and so he gently rocked them side to side, whispering soothing sounds and sweet words of nothingness into Kurts ears. He felt as Kurts breathing slowly evened out into a calming pace.

"I don't want that to be me" Kurt confessed sombrely

"It won't be" Blaine reassured.

"How do you _know_ though?" Kurt said, almost pleading as he shuffled his body to face Blaine, who's face was struggling to hide the heartbreak he felt at the words his boyfriend was saying and how scared he was. All he wanted to do was to tell him that everything would be okay. But he couldn't.

"None of us know. Seth thought he was going to be okay and then he relapsed and now, now it's not okay. its far from okay for him. he's not going to be able to graduate University, or get married, teach his son how to play football or walk his daughter up the aisle." He exhaled deeply. "He's not even 18 yet Blaine" he whispered. He dipped his head into his hand, rubbing his hand profusely over his eyes. "God, I only met this boy a few hours ago and I'm already thinking about his future. Well, no, the future he'll never have. Why do I care this much?" he thought aloud.

"Hey. You care because _you_, Kurt Hummel, have the _biggest_ heart I have ever known one person was capable to even have. And babe, none of us know what's going to happen but, but we just have to stay positive. _You_ have to stay positive, okay? Even Seth told you that remember, when we were walking out? Do you remember what he said to you?"

"Don't let it define who I am" Kurt whispered.

Blaine nodded. "So do that for him. You cant do anything to help him now and that's horrible, but it's not your fault, but I think the least he would want you to do for him is to take his advice."

Kurt leaned forward, dropping his head onto Blaines chest as Blaine placed a kiss onto the top of his head.

"You always seem to know how to make me feel even the tiniest bit better" Kurt murmured, his voice muffled through the cotton of Blaines shirt.

"It's kind of my job" Blaine teased. "But it's the best job I'll ever have."

Kurt lifted his head to face Blaine. He smiled sadly because even though Blaine had reassured him, he still couldn't shake the feelings of empathy he had been carrying around with him.

"I love you so much" Kurt said.

"I love you too" Blaine replied as he brushed a strand of Kurts hair from his forehead. The two of them instinctively moved in closed before the two pairs of lips willingly melted into one. It was as if this one kiss conveyed everything the two of them wanted to say in that moment. They mutually pulled away and Blaine realised it was the first time throughout the whole day that he had seen Kurt genuinely smile. Kurt turned back around so that his back was flush against Blaines chest, Blaines arms slithering back around his slim waist. He dropped a kiss onto Kurts shoulder before his chin rested there. Both let out a sigh of contentment as they breathed in the closeness of the other, admiring the landscape around them.

"Do you want to hear something funny?" Kurt asked after a few moments of silence, slightly tilting his head over his shoulder to face Blaine.

"Mmm" Blaine murmured.

"Seth saw us perform at Regionals" he said and he saw Blaines eyebrows furrow together. "He was in Aural Intensity" he elaborated.

Blaine gasped as the revelation had taken him by complete surprise. "No _way! _ Wow. They sung the song about Jesus right?"

"The very same" Kurt confirmed. "He said to me that he recognised us when we walked in today because we looked the same as we did during 'Candles', like we had the same facial expression as he put it "like we were so happy to be with each other".

"Well he's defiantly right about that" Blaine gently nudged Kurts shoulder forward. "But that is a really nice thing for him to say."

"He was a nice guy." Kurt replied, to which Blaine just simply nodded to.

"God how did that song go again?" Blaine thought aloud to himself. "_Jesus is a friend of mine_" he started to sing as he recalled the lyrics he'd once heard just over a year ago, but he soon found himself with a duet partner.

_"Jesus is my friend" _

_"Jesus is a friend of mine"_ Blaine sung slightly louder this time, encouraged by Kurts harmonizing.

_"I'm a friend of Jesus"_ Kurt pitch perfectly resounded. Kurt tilted his head upwards and smiled at Blaine with the utmost affection. They looked at each other before seconds later, falling into a fit of giggles. Kurt pressed his hand into the ground, supporting himself as he leaned upwards to press his lips to Blaines before snuggling back down into his arms, a sigh of contentment escaping his lips. It was little moments like these that Kurt would treasure for the rest of his life and he would be damned if he was going to give them up now.

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><p><strong>AN - Okay - what did you guys think of Seth? I love him :) I thought it would be really cool for Kurt to meet someone his age who had cancer too but obviously who's not as lucky so yeah, I'd love to know what you thought about him and that storyline :)**

**Okay this might be wishful thinking on my behalf but I wanna make it my own personal target to reach at least 53 reviews by the end of this chapter so if any of you would be a dear and help me to acheive that, I would love you forever:)(L) - it's six reviews and plus, I absolutely love hearing what you all thought because that is so important to me and it really helps me in other chapters:)**

**OH I almost forgot, I dont want to give away what I'm planning for a later chapter (It's around Chapter 12/13 atm) but if anyone has any song suggestions, would you be a dear and drop them in a review or private message me because i would love to hear your suggestions. I already have some ideas but theres thousands of songs out there that i havent heard before that someone else might have and could be perfect for this so yeah :) the themes I'm going for are love, friendship, songs with inspirational lyrics - stuff like that :)**

**Tumblr link is http:[.]/[.]theycanttouchus12.[.]tumblr.[.]com/ - obviously take out the [.]'s xD - If you ever wanna know anything about this, theres where to find me:)**

**Again, I am so, so sorry for the delay in this chapter but i hope it was okay and i'll make sure Chapter 10 is up sooner than this.**

**Until next time(L)xx**


	11. Chapter 10

**Authors Note: I officially suck, I know I know. I know I promised I would have this one up sooner but oh my god where do I even start :|Because I really do owe you guys an explanation. **

**Firstly, my Great Aunt died on the 3rd February so obviously that was a hard time for all of us and between organising the funeral and sorting out her things, plus being in Grimsby for 2 days for the funeral, for a while this obviously wasn't my first thought (I'm still committed - don't worry). **  
><strong>Secondly, my laptop charger decided to break just as I started writing this - I literally got about two paragraphs in and it broke so I've literally wrote this whole chapter by hand and I always underestimate how long it takes to actually type stuff up let alone a whole chapter so between college work and everything else, it's taken me ages to do this. Handwriting this chaper was definately a challenge - the amount of crossing outs and asterisks I'd made where I wanted to add in something extra but I've already used the line space is unreal. <strong>  
><strong>And then just generally, I had really bad writers block with this. I have every chapter planned out and they sometimes change slightly but the general gist is still the same but when I actually sat down to write, I was just blank and I never want to give you guys something Im not completely happy with and I dont want to force a chapter out<strong>

**So I am really really sorry about all of that and I hope you're still with me:(**

**But in the last few days I've had some good news - I PASSED MY EXAMS! :D Remember how i said there'll be a delay in that last chapters because of my exams - well I got C's in both of them and I'm on target to pass the course :D So happy!**

**So again, Thank you to everyone who alerts, reviews and favourites this(L) I love you:) **

**This chapter is seriously huge - its 6576 words long :| so enjoy:) I actually really like this chapter so I hope you do to - I'm such a sucker for fluff even in an angst fic :L. Also I'm going to explain some things in the bottom authors note :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

* * *

><p>The night that followed Kurts treatment session was much like the last one. After spending nearly two, blissful hours wrapped up in each others arms in the serenity of Whinfell park, just simply talking about every and anything with the welcome pastime of stealing chaste kisses at every opportunity, Blaine insisted on taking Kurt home and reluctantly, Kurt eventually agreed, not before sealing the deal with a slow, lazy kiss. They arrived home to the inevitable, immediate firing of questions from both Carole and Burt but it was nothing they didn't expect and so they happily told them that yes, everything had gone swimmingly today. They had agreed earlier that day to not tell Burt and Carole about Seth, not yet anyway. Kurt was so upset earlier that they agreed that Kurt would tell them about him and his experience of meeting him when he was ready to and only if he wanted to.<p>

The rest of the evening passed by fairly normally. Dinner was normal and filled with easy conversation. They all gathered in the front room before Burt and Carole both retired earlier than usual as Carole had been complaining of feeling sick. When they asked if she was okay, she replied that she had been feeling like this for a few days now but not to worry about her. Finn decided to give the two of them some much deserved private time and confined himself to the privacy of his own room. They curled up on the sofa and decided on watching 'Meet Joe Black' however within 40 minutes, Blaines ears pricked at the even sound of Kurts breathing - he could always tell when Kurt was asleep. Deciding that they could quite easily finish the film another day, Blaine pointed the remote to turn off the DVD player and gently lifted Kurts head off of his chest so that his back was resting straight against the back of the sofa. As he stood up, he wrapped one arm underneath the crook of Kurts legs and placed a strong hand against his back. Blaine could feel that Kurt was slowly getting lighter, another reminder of everything that was happening. Kurt instinctively reached out for contact as he wrapped his arms around Blaines neck and rested his head on his shoulder as Blaine carried them upstairs. As they lay in bed, Kurt fast asleep and Blaine not far behind him, Blaine wondered when exactly the cycle would begin all over again. It was now just a waiting game and that's exactly what they had to do. Wait.

* * *

><p>The brightness of the Saturday morning sunlight was relentlessly seeping into the creases of Blaines eyelids. he curled his hand into a fist before rubbing it over his eyes, trying to reduce the impact the sunlight would have on his inexposed irises once he fully opened them. he checked his phone to find that the time was just after 7am. Lifting himself up onto his elbows, he peered over slightly to see that Kurt was still fast asleep. Blaine was sure that watching Kurt sleep, especially recently, was one of his favourite sights. The small worry lines that had started to appear in his features over the last few months ceased to exist, his eyelids were gently clasped shut and his mouth relaxed, his lips almost twitched into a smile. he knew the cancer was within Kurts body and nothing for now, could stop it, how could he forget, but it was almost as if when Kurt was asleep, nothing could hurt him, the world couldn't hurt him. He leant forward to press the simplest of kisses to Kurts temple. When he heard the contented sigh Kurt unconsciously released, he smiled to himself before snuggling back down into the warm comfort of the shared bed with the pleasant idea of being able to steal a few extra hours of sleep before starting the day. Blaine was so close to slipping back into the state of unconsciousness before he suddenly felt the body beside him quickly shuffle out of the bed and the rapid, muffled footsteps running across the carpet and into the bathroom. Blaine was seconds behind Kurt and he just made it to the doorway to see the heartbreaking sight of his boyfriend helplessly keeled over the toilet seat, regurgitating the contents of his stomach. No matter how many times he knew this was going to happen, the thought of and the mere sight of it never got any easier. He sunk to his knees, rubbing small, comforting circles into Kurts back as Kurt fell victim to his body, helpless to do anything but let it take control of his actions. Blaine had to bite his lip tightly in an attempt to stop the tears escaping his own eyes as the painful sound of Kurts heart wrenching sob filled the quiet air. He just wanted to take the pain away. He would do anything. <em>Anything<em>. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. and sometimes that was the most painful thing.

He promptly rose to his feet to get to the sink, grabbing the nearest flannel to under the faucet and eventually squeezing it tightly, ridding it of the excess water it held. Blaine folded the flannel in half and gently placed it against Kurts burning forehead giving him the instant flood of relief he so desperately needed. His eyes gently closed and shoulders instantly relaxed at the sensation. Keeping the flannel in place against Kurts forehead, Blaine leaned down, placing the softest of kisses to Kurts temple, as if the gesture were anymore forceful, he would break.

"It's started again" he whispered painfully as he nuzzled closer into Blaines side, not even the slightest trace of energy audible in his voice, nor visible in his slumped body.

"It looks that way baby" Blaine sadly replied. He dropped the flannel to the floor and instead, started softly stroking locks of hair away from Kurts damp, burning forehead.

"It's okay though. You're okay. I'm here" he offered.

"I'm sorry." Even though it cam out not an octave above a whisper, the slight break in Kurts voice was more than visible to Blaine.

"Wha- Hey, look at me." He lifts his free hand and fits into the curve of Kurts jaw, his thumb stroking along the softness of his burning cheekbone. "Why are you sorry?" he whispers, confused as to what on earth Kurt could be feeling sorry for right now.

"You were asleep and I woke you because of - " he barely lifts his arm from his side as he weakly gestures to the room around them. " - all of this. But it's just, I know you're here for me and you look after me but, I just - I feel like such a burden on you at times like this. Like, I don't want you to feel like you _have _to help me. I - I can probably manage myself, I guess."

Blaine gave him the most incredulous look his face could even begin to muster. "Okay I'm just going to put this down to the vomiting, the fact that you've only just woken up and you haven't eaten or drunk anything today and say that you're a little delirious right now." He joked which just about earnt a half hearted smile from Kurt. "Babe, just, no - don't ever think that way, okay. _You _are by no means a burden. Of course this isn't the nicest thing for me to watch you go through but you, Kurt Hummel, are absolutely _crazy _if you didn't think I wouldn't be right here with you, every single step of the way. I could be on the other side of the world and even the hint of a sniffle couldn't keep me from you. I love you, you dork, so don't _ever _apologise for something that is completely out of your control."

Kurt nuzzled his face deeper into the warm comfort of Blaines hand as it still lovingly clasped his cheek.

"How are you so perfect" he groaned weakfully.

Blaine now had both of his hands caressing Kurts face as he leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "You'll never know my secrets" he joked, sealed with a cheeky wink. They leaned back against the cool, tiled wall, Blaines arm over Kurts shoulder.

"Besides, might as well start putting those vows into practice, start making good of them right" Blaine offhandedly remarked. Kurt was well aware that Blaine didn't always think about what he said before he did, he was just such an open person, but this one comment certainly caught his attention.

"Vows? What do you mean?"

"Well about being there in sickness and in health of course. I mean I'd be here anyway but you know what I mean" he said as he lay his cheek on top of the nest of Kurts hair.

"Mmm" Kurt nodded.

He and Blaine had shared numerous conversations where they had discussed their hopes and dreams for the future. Although they had never out rightly said with each other, they had both openly expressed their dream of one day, being happily married. But hearing Blaine just then, indirectly talking about the vows he intends to take one day showed Kurt that he wasn't the only one who was dreaming of a marriage between the two of them. Hearing Blaine so casually talk about the vows he intends to uphold with Kurt one day made Kurts heart swell to a size bigger than he ever thought possible because in that moment, he truly could see it, clearer then ever. He saw himself in 10 years, a successful figure in the ever competitive and ruthless fashion industry, knee deep in rolls of expensive fabrics, his phone ringing off the hook with people desperate to own the designs of one Kurt Hummel, the stress of having strict deadlines to meet for his new designs to hit the racks, the daily wonder of why on earth he even _chose _this career path as he pricks himself with the 20th pin of that day but none of that mattering, all of it becoming insignificant because the simple but beautiful, silver band that sat comfortably around the ring finger of his left hand was a constant comfort that it was Blaine who he went home to at night. Blaine who he told every single detail of his day to after kissing him 'hello' in the doorway of their New York apartment. Blaine who he got to end the night with and start every day with. Blaine, who marriage or not, he wholeheartedly chose to share his life with.

"That sounds better than you can even imagine." And for the first time that morning, Kurts face was graced with a genuine, sparkling smile that could have lit up the room.

* * *

><p>The day didn't get much better with Kurt running backwards and forwards to the bathroom an umpteenth amount of times, with Blaine, Burt and Carole all putting Kurt on strict bed rest for the remainder of the day. Blaine and Kurt barely even managed to get through the remainder of 'Meet Joe Black' from the night before as Kurt was regularly reacquainted with the confinements of the bathroom and the feel of the tiled floor against his knees, with Blaine hot on his heels behind him. He even refused the homemade Tomato and Basil Soup Carole had brought up earlier that evening but was soon persuaded by a instinctively motherly Carole and an almost pleading Blaine to at least have a couple of mouthfuls as he hadn't eaten a single thing all day. Blaine knew that this was just a part of the deal but it never got any easier. To watch your loved one in so much pain was one of life's cruellest gifts. Blaine would rather face all of the horrors the world had to offer him than watch Kurt in pain and know that there was little he could do to help but to just be there.<br>Midnight came and after a calm few hours, everything was back in full force and Kurt found himself back on his knees in front of the toilet, at the mercy of his body. It was ten minutes before it had all subsided, Kurt heavily breathing as he hung his head over the seat, desperately trying to get his breath back. Gently placing an arm around Kurts waist and a steady hand to his elbow, Blaine slowly guided them back to the comfort of their bed. He stood at the edge of the bed, making sure Kurt was situated comfortably as his comfort was his main priority. Kurt groaned a little as settled back down but Blaine knew that it was just from his body settling back down and that he was far more comfortable now. Kurt felt the bed slightly dip as Blaine kneeled on the mattress, tilting his head sadly as he lovingly stroked the strands of hair away from his damp forehead, knowing that his boyfriend hated when that happened. Kurts eyes closed at the serenity of the loving gesture.

"I'm going to go downstairs to grab your other box of tablets okay babe. We finished the other box earlier" Blaine whispered.

"No" Kurt protested at he grabbed at Blaines arms. "Don't go. Not yet." He murmured.

"The sooner I go, the sooner it'll start to feel a little better for you" Blaine replied sadly as he took the hand that encircled his arm and held it tightly in his, as if he wasn't holding Kurts hand, he wouldn't be there.

"I'll be back as soon as, okay? You won't even notice how long I was gone" he assured as he simultaneously shuffled off of the bed.

"I always notice when you're not with me" Kurt whispered.

"You're adorable" Blaine whispered as he placed a kiss to his forehead. "I'll be right back okay?" He squeezed his hand in comfort. He turned around to flash one last, classic beaming smile at his boyfriend before almost running out of the room.

With the newly sealed box of tablets poking out of the pocket of his pyjama trousers and a glass of ice cold water in his hand, Blaine made his way back upstairs and across the landing. Curiosity got the better of him and he stopped in his tracks when he heard the mention of Kurts name drifting out of Burt and Caroles room. He wasn't sure who had said it - the fact that they were both awake was surprising enough as he had originally thought them both to be asleep as it was now way past midnight and surely nearing 1am - but the hushed conversation had now caught his attention. He knew he probably shouldn't be listening but it was about Kurt and Blaine found it physically impossible to ever ignore something that involved Kurt. He heard the exasperated sigh and rustle of papers. As he peered through the tiny gap where the door had been left ajar, he saw Burt and Carole sitting under the covers of the bed, surrounded by masses of paper. He heard Carole speak first.

"Okay, right I rung the Insurance Company earlier and they said that the policy they offer is that they pay 75% of whatever the final bill comes to. Right now, at the moment with hospital bills, treatment plans, medication and other things, we're nearing - " He saw her pick up a piece of paper that had scribblings that he could in no way make out from the distance he was standing. Her eyes darted sideways as she scan read it, her glasses sitting on the ledge of her nose "-$25,000 so that is - " She tapped the numbers out onto the calculator that was sitting in her lap "- $3,750 for us to pay which isn't too bad. You know I'll - I'll pick up some extra shifts and -"

"That's not it though, is it?" Burt sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "That's just $3,750 _so far_ Carole. He's still got at least four more rounds of treatment until November, plus any other things he'll need on top of that and what about if he falls ill and we have to take him to the emergency room." Blaine heard Burt sigh and he knew that all of this was just mentally and emotionally draining to Burt as well as it was physically exhausting.

"I'll erm, I'll extend the hours the garage is open. Maybe 7am-8pm? Maybe make it open seven days a week too. That'll get some extra money coming in" He said in a firm tone of voice.

"Burt, sweetie, I know you're stressed and worried - we all are but we'll figure it out. If you overwork yourself, you're heart - "

"Screw my heart right now!" Even Blaine jumped at the sudden change in tone and volume of the most mellow man Blaine knew. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. I just, he - he's my son Carole. Before you, he was all I had for a long time. He _is _my life and I will work to my death bed if it means that he's alive. He deserves _everything _good in the world and I'll be damned if I don't do my absolute best to give it to him. Now I have some money saved away in an account -"

Blaine walked away. He didn't need to hear anymore. He'd heard enough to know that he'd made his decision. He was going to help. He wanted to do anything possible to not only help his boyfriend, but the people who had accepted him into their family, house and lives with nothing but welcome, loving arms.

He walked back into the bedroom and he smiled as he was graced with the sight of Kurt, his head slowly dipping to the side as he dozed into a light sleep. He looked the most peaceful he had seen him all day and it broke his heart to wake him but he knew with the tablet, Kurt would almost feel better by a substantial amount. The gentle press of his lips to Kurts warm cheek slowly brought him out of his light slumber, his piercing blue eyes slowly gracing the world again with their beauty.

"Hey" he mumbled.

"Hey baby" Blaine smiled. "Just take these for me and then you can go back to sleep okay" to which Kurt slowly nodded in agreement.

The crinkling of the metal packet and piercing of the film lid echoed around the quiet room. Blaine held out his hands, offering the two pills in one and the glass of water in his other. He carefully watched as Kurt gratefully transferred the pills from Blaines hand to his mouth, swallowing one after the other down with the water. It offered Blaine a small comfort to know that the tablets were now working their way into Kurts system.

"Go back to sleep now okay" he whispered.

"Lie with me?"

"Where else am I going to be" Blaine smiled as he snuggled down beside Kurt. He pulled Kurt into his arms to lay closer into his side. Kurt gripped at Blaines shirt as he seeked the closeness he wanted, his other arm draped over Blaines stomach. He hummed in contentment as the gentle movements of Blaine running his hand up and down Kurts bare arm relaxed him into a dozing state.

"I love you" he said, not even sure if Kurt was still awake but even saying the words out loud, getting them out there was good enough for Blaine. But he was rewarded with a reply.

"Love you too" he heard before Kurts breathing started to even out, falling into a deep sleep fairly quickly. _"He must've been exhausted" _Blaine thought to himself.

* * *

><p>He couldn't sleep. At all. As he sat there in the darkness, the sound of Kurts mellow breathing the only thing audible in the room, he couldn't get Burt and Caroles earlier conversation out of his head. He had been so preoccupied with solely focusing on <em>Kurt, <em>that he hadn't even thought about any of things occurring behind the scenes. But he was 19. 19 years olds didn't think about things like that but just as he decided earlier that night, now that he _did _know, he wanted to help. And so with that, he gingerly leaned sideways to grab his phone from the bedside table, desperate to not disturb the sleeping boy on top of him. He instantly froze his movements and looked at Kurt with widened eyes, like a deer that had been caught in headlights when he felt his shift slightly against him but as he settled back down easily, he quickly grabbed the device to avoid any further disturbances.

He smiled as he pressed the circular 'home' button at the bottom of his phone, bringing up a picture of him and Kurt at Kurts graduation as his wallpaper. Kurt was dressed to the nines in his red cap and gown, his eyes crinkled shut but beaming with happiness as Blaine pouted a cheeky kiss to his cheek. In this picture they were oblivious to the fact that in two short days, both of their lives would be changed in a way that neither of them could have expected. In this picture, they were just, happy. The brightness of the screen hit Blaine like a freight train so he promptly unlocked the phone, tapped the settings option and dragged his finger across the screen to turn down the artificial light as to avoid any more blinding pain to his pupils that had accustomed to the darkness.

He pulled up his contact list and selected the one person who he really needed to talk to right now. The person whose help he knew he would need if his idea was to become more than just a brainwave.

**From Blaine:  
><strong>_Are you awake?_

He needn't wait for a reply as his dimly illuminated with a new message alert in the darkened room.

**From Finn:**  
><em>Yeah man, just playing some video games. Cant really sleep. Everything okay?<em>

**From Blaine:  
><strong>_Yeah totally, I just need to talk to you about something. Your mum made cookies earlier so __there's__ some milk and cookies in it for you._

**From Finn:  
><strong>_You had me at cookies. Meet you downstairs in 10 minutes okay_

The ten minutes soon passed by and Blaine carefully shifted himself from underneath Kurt. Instinctively sensing the loss of the warm body next to him, Kurt groaned in his sleep but Blaines heart warmed as he watched an unconscious Kurt reach for Blaines pillow, hugging it tightly in his arms with his face and nose buried deeply into it. He smiled at the sight before making his way downstairs. He walked into the kitchen to find Finn standing at the Kitchen island , an open bag of bread beside him and slicing thin slices of cheese on the granite chopping board.

"A sandwich? Really Finn?" Blaine asked, obviously amused at his antics.

"I got hungry" Finn shrugged.

"You had two helpings at dinner. And besides, it's nearly half 1 - haven't you heard that you shouldn't eat cheese before bed?"

"Alright mum" Finn cooed teasingly. The two looked at each other before bursting into a quiet laughter. "Do you want one?" He offered.

"I think I'll stick with the cookies thanks" Blaine said as he gestured towards to the plate of freshly baked cookies and the two glasses of milk that Finn had kindly set out before Blaine had even got downstairs.

"Whatever man, I'm having both. You don't know what you're missing out on."

Blaine shook his head in amusement as Finn took a seat next to him on the stools.

"So what did you want to talk about? Why the so secret rendezvous - I don't think Kurt would be too happy about a love triangle." A clenched fist playfully collided with Finns arm.

"You ass. You know that is wrong on like, _so _many levels - You're like a brother to me" Blaine laughed before turning completely serious. "No, I have an idea that I want to run by you."

Finn tilted his head sideways and gestured his arms outwards in silent encouragement to carry on.

"What do you think about a fundraiser?"

"An-und-aiser?" Finn managed to repeat as he chewed a mouthful of his sandwich.

"I must be spending too much time with you because I actually understood that." Blaine teased.

"Sorry man, you just took me by surprise and kind of caught me off guard. So a fundraiser - like a concert of some sorts?" Blaine nodded. "With all of us?" A single nod affirmed his question. "For Kurt?" He thought aloud.

"Yeah." Blaines face lit up a the idea of making all of this happen.

"Well yeah, I mean it sounds great - more then great actually but, what's brought this all on?" Finn questioned.

Blaine sighed. "I might've heard your mum and Burt talking earlier."

"You mean you were eavesdropping" Finn corrected.

"Oh like you wouldn't have done the same!" Blaine defended.

"Fair play dude" Finn agreed without question. "Carry on."

"Okay, so, do you know how much all of the bills from the hospital and treatments are coming to?" Finn slowly shakes his head. "Well it's a lot."

"Wait, I thought the Insurance covered it or something?" His eyes narrowed in confusion.

"It does but we still have to pay some towards it" Blaine informed.

"Okay, and this would be our way of contributing?" Finn said, slowly piecing the threads of information together as he spoke.

"Yeah. I mean look, your mum and Burt were talking about taking extra shifts, keeping the garage open longer and dipping into their savings and yes, maybe that will be inevitable and avoidable at some point but I know you would love to help them as much as I do. And plus, its all in Kurts honour - a night where he can just forget everything for a few hours and be surrounded by the people who love him and who he loves back. Just, a night free of everything that he has going on. So what'd you think? Good or god awful bad?" Blaine tentively asked

"No, no no its a good idea" Finn answered quickly. "More than good, it's a _brilliant _idea - Everyone else will love it too. We can get all of the New Directions back together and you can get all of The Warblers back, we can ring Mr Schu and see if he'll let us use the auditorium, we can sell tickets, refreshments, we can ask Tina about making programs - I mean she did just head the yearbook committee so we've got connections there and - "

"Okay whoa, slow down there cowboy" Blaine laughed as he held up his hands in an attempt to stop Finn. He wasn't even sure if Finn had stopped to breathe in the last minute.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly. "Got er - got a little bit excited. This really is a great idea though Blaine" he smiled.

"Well I was thinking maybe tomorrow, a few of us could all meet down at The Lima Bean and we could start talking about it properly?"

"Yeah sure, but what about Kurt? I mean this is obviously going to be a surprise so he can't really come so you know, are you okay with leaving him for a couple of hours?"

"We're not married yet Finn - he doesn't have me on a leash just yet." Although Blaine was touched by Finns concern, he couldn't resist slipping in the joke to lighten the mood.

"Are you sure about that my friend" Finn scoffed.

"You're _so _funny Finn. Absolutely hilarious. Really, my sides are splitting" Blaine said, the sarcasm oozing from the words, but his smile assured Finn that it was all in good nature. "It's Sunday tomorrow so both Burt and Carole will still be here" he assured. "He'll probably sleep for a lot of the day anyway - he hasn't had a good day today."

"Okay, well that sounds good. I was going over to Rachels in the morning anyway. She was dragging me out to do some shopping for her big move to New York but I know as soon as I tell her about this, she'll change her plans, without a doubt."

Blaine nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm going to call David in the morning - maybe you or Rachel could text Mercedes and then all going to plan, should we say 1 o'clock?" Blaine says as they both slide off of the chairs, getting ready to head back upstairs.

Finn holds out his hand for Blaine to take and pulls him into a tight hug. "Sounds awesome man" he says over Blaines shoulder. Blaine smiled as he pulled away from the embrace.

"Okay well we better be going to bed. I left your brother with a pillow as a replacement for me."

"Well no one can say he's not imaginative" Finn teased.

Finn had insisted that Blaine didn't have to wait for him as he cleared away the glasses the equipment from his earlier sandwich making antics. As Blaine was nearing the stairs, he was stopped by Finns voice.

"Hey Blaine. You know how you said that you and Kurt aren't married _ yet _- can you see it? You know, being married to Kurt."

This was something he'd been thinking about a lot really and when he thought about it, Blaine could see nothing else, nor did he want anything else but instead, he answered "Well can you?"

He saw Finns drift to the side before they landed back on him. "Yeah, I can" he affirmed.

"Me too" he smiled.

"Well, when it happens. you're going to be an awesome Brother In Law to have" Finn admitted as he tied a knot into the bag of bread.

"Yeah? Well you're not so bad yourself I guess" Blaine teased before ascending up the stairs and he really could see it. Clear as the bright of day, he saw himself and Kurt living in a New York apartment, after a long day at their respectable work places, the sight of each other melting away every single problem. He saw the cosy nights in curled up on the sofa watching pointless television but not caring because they were with each other, he saw the heated arguments followed by the slow lazy kisses along with the whispered 'I love you's' and 'I'm sorry's' - He saw a marriage. He made his way back into the bedroom and slipped the pillow out from Kurts arms, placing it back against the headboard as he slipped in next to him. He instantly felt an arm over his waist as Kurt buried his nose into his side. He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of his head and Blaine knew and had known for a long time, that he would be perfectly happy to spend every night of the rest of his life just like this.

* * *

><p>Despite it being Sunday, the day where it is accepted worldwide to just be <em>lazy <em>and relax, Blaine purposefully woke up at the strike of nine o'clock. Normally, his wake up routine, (dependant on him being awake before Kurt) involved admiring the man next to him, the man he got to wake up next to every morning and hoped to for the rest of his days, the man he got to call _his. _After an acceptable amount of time, he would start to gradually wake Kurt up with the gift of peppered kisses to any parts of his face he could reach and the shared morning pleasantries of whispered 'Good mornings' and 'I love you's' before snuggling back into each other to spend some morning, quality time together.

The latter of that was likely to happen but today, Blaine wasn't intending on waking Kurt up. Not until he'd done what he needed to anyway. He tenderly picked up the arm Kurt had draped over his waist during the night and gently shuffled out from underneath it before laying it back across the bed. Kurt obviously sensed the loss as he instinctively grabbed Blaines pillow and wrapped his arm around it. Blaine smiled at the knowledge that the pillow he slept with offered some temporary comfort to his boyfriend. He knew that Kurt found his smell comforting as some of the various items of his clothes that Kurt had borrowed over the course of their relationship had never quite found their way back to Blaine. Especially whilst Blaine was in Michigan, Kurt found that his old Dalton jumper was one of life's simple pleasures because it was just Blaine - it was comforting to have some part of _him _still there with him even if it wasn't the real thing.

He grabbed his phone off of the bedside table before slipping into the adjoining bathroom, quietly shutting the door behind him. Sitting on the ledge of the bathtub, he dialled the number of the one person he definitely wanted to help him

"BLAINE! Hey man, how are you? How's Kurt?"

"He's fine Dave" Blaine chuckled at how enthusiastic David sounded, even so early in the morning but that was just David all over. A positive person. "We're both fine thanks. How're you man?"

"Urmm..." Blaine could practically hear the shudder in his voice "Questionable. I kind of messed things up with Jenna last night."

"Do I even want to know?" Blaine quipped

"Probably not dude. So what's up?"

"What are you doing later today?" Blaine began, hopeful that Davids schedule was wide open, at least for a couple of hours.

"Well I was going to attempt to fix the mess that is my love life - " they both laughed before Blaine was putting fist to his mouth in an attempt to stifle a laughter that could get dangerously loud. "- But if you've got a better offer, I'll gladly postpone it for a few hours. Maybe even forever." He mumbled

"Oh don't be so dramatic, It can't be that bad."

" I - I'm not even going to answer that. So what did you want to do today?"

"Oh, well it's about Kurt and I -"

"Say no more, where and when?" David swiftly interrupted.

"But - But you don't even know what I was going to tell you" Blaine hedged.

"I don't need to. I did go to school with Kurt remember, I love that boy like he's my little brother. So again, where and when?" David stated.

"The Lima Bean. At 1" Blaine smiled.

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Great. Thank you Dave, I - just, thank you" Blaine settled for. he couldn't put into words how much it meant to him to have his best friend hopefully doing the fundraiser with him.

"It's okay. you know I would do anything for you, even if I don't know exactly what I'm doing yet."

"Well you wouldn't let me finish the sentence!" Blaine defended

"I know but it still stands, I would do anything for you."

"Me too." Blaine said. "okay girl time over - " Davids laugh was practically deafening through the receiver but Blaine chuckled right along with him "- What the hell happened between you and Jenna then?"

"Oh dude really?" David whined and Blaine could tell he really didn't want to talk about it. "You're really not going to let it drop are you?" He sighed before continuing. "Lets just say, I got really, _really _drunk at Uncle Alans wedding reception last night and we were dancing, things were said, they got heated and she stormed off but I can hardly remember what was even said anymore."

"Graduation drunk or Freshers week drunk?" Blaine questioned

"Freshers week drunk" David answered after a few moments of careful consideration. "Plus a few more"

"_David! _What the-" Blaine exclaimed, internally reminding himself that he had to keep the noise down.

"Dude you are _so _not helping me right now."

You know most of the time, my job is to help you, to give you advice and tell you it's all going to be okay but at this moment, I'm personally giving myself permission to completely mock you."

"You are the worst best friend I ever could have picked" David said sarcastically.

"Love you too. I have to go now anyway so I'll see you later"

"Yes, I shall see you later _supposed _best friend." David quipped before ending the call.

With the cue of the dial tone, Blaine tapped the 'End' option on the screen and walked back into the bedroom. Kurt was as he had left him and so he tried desperately not to disturb him too much as he climbed back into the warmth of their bed. It wasn't long before Kurt was back pressed against his side.

"Who was that?" Kurt grumbled, his voice thick with sleep. Blaine had been so sure he was still in a deep sleep. But now that he was awake, Blaine welcomed this opportunity to gently tilt Kurts head up by his chin, giving him a better angle to press his lips to Kurts.

"I'm sorry babe, did I wake you?" he whispered

"Maybe" Kurt teased before moving in again for another short, sweet, stroking Blaines cheek and relishing the slight hint of his morning stubble. "No you didn't - I just kind of woke up and noticed you weren't here and then I couldn't sleep after that." He admitted.

"You're adorable." Blaine cooed.

"So you've told me _many _times." Kurt quipped as he snuggled into Blaines side, his thumb soothingly rubbing across his chest. "So who was that?"

"David." Kurt hummed in acknowledgement. "I have to pop out for a couple of hours today."

"Okay" Kurt nodded into his side. "Are you going to tell me why?" he teased after a long moment of silence had passed where he assumed Blaine would have elaborated.

"David just needs to borrow a book from me" Blaine lamely offered but hoped it would do the trick of swaying Kurt from the truth.

"I know I'm still half asleep but I'm not falling for that." It didn't. "_Of course it didn't" _Blaine thought. "What's the real reason?"

"I kind of can't tell you babe"

"You _kind _of can't tell me or _won't _tell me" Kurt questioned suspiciously.

"Both really. It's a surprise" Blaine said.

"What - for me?" Kurt asked

"No, actually it's for my secret boyfriend. I'm hiding him away downtown. Yes of course it's for you silly" Blaine laughed as Kurt playfully swatted his hand against Blaines chest.

"You're an idiot"

"I'm your idiot though" Blaine softly said as he lowered his head to graze his nose against Kurts before kissing the tip of it.

"What on _earth _are you up to?" Kurt asked incredulously as Blaine slowly increased the distance between them.

The smirk on Blaines face could have been seen from miles away. "You'll see" he simply answered. Because Kurt would see and Blaine was going to make sure that this whole thing was a complete success not only to help Burt and Carole, but for Kurt too, even if it was the last thing he ever done.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Well?**

**I really love the 'You'll see' line at the end cause it kind of applies to you guys aswell xD  
><strong>

**Okay so if you didn't know by now, I am British and so I really don't know much about the Anerican Health Care system. I know some people have insurance so they don't have to pay and people who don't have insurance do have to pay. That being said, I know that the Hummel-Hudson's aren't poor and could probably afford insurance but I needed them to have money struggles somewhere for my plan for the fundraiser to work and a few other eventual plot lines to work but hey, this is an AU so it can work :) but if any if you want to tell me about the health care system, feel free:) **  
><strong>Also, the running theme of marriage between Kurt and Blaine in this - what I was trying to get across is that they're both thinking about it and everything thats happened has made them realise that its with eachother but because they're so young, they havent directly had that conversaion yet if that makes sense?<strong>  
><strong>I love the FinnBlaine and Blaine/David scenes in this - I think it's important to add scenes like that and I really like them:)  
>Also just a random fact - the idea of them watching 'Meet Joe Black' is because thats one of the films I'm analysing for my exam in June:) Its really good if you havent seen it already xD<br>**

**Now a lot of this chapter might seem like a filler for the big fundraiser eventually which is looking to be about chapter 12? But it's also planting seeds for plot lines right until the end of this so they don't come out of nowhere ;D **  
><strong>This chapter was suposed to be even longer than this too because I was planning to add the Lima Bean scene and a scene between Blaine and Kurt but I decided to put them in Chapter 11 to spread the fundraiser storyline out :) <strong>

**So I would absolutely love you all if you just took a little time to add a review to this - Reviews really do keep this story going, not only do they give me ideas and inklings as to what you all want to see but they help me to keep going :) **

**Reviews really do make my day**

**Tumblr link - **http:[.]/[.]theycanttouchus12.[.]tumblr.[.]com/ - obviously take out the [.]'s xD - If you ever wanna know anything about this, theres where to find me:)**  
><strong>

**So I'm posting this and now I'm off to see one of my best friends as she's just come out of the hospital :(**  
><strong>Until next time my lovelys:)(L)xx<strong>


	12. Chapter 11

**Authors Note: I suck, I suck, I so unbelievably suck - I am so, so sorry. I'm completely aware that it's been basically 2 months since I last updated and I feel so awful about it but I'm just having such a hard time juggling everything right now that finding a time to focus on this without any other other pieces of college work due or going to work etc was practically impossible. I wish I was an amazing writer and could give you guys updates every few days but I'm not :( **

**But on a brighter note, I'm completely astounded as to the fact that people are still alerting and favouriting this so thank you so muchh! And to everyone who's stuck with me despite my awful abilities at updating, thank you all so much - you all honestly put the biggest smile on my face, especially the lovely few of you who leave me beautiful reviews(L) I'm gonna start answering reviews at the bottom too:)**

**So this chapters 6, 759 words long so it's fairly long so it can be my huge apology to you and as always, there's fluff, there's angst and there's even Hummel-Hudson in this chapter so hopefully you enjoy it:) I hope so anyway**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee :(**

* * *

><p>The unmistakable, but warm and somewhat comforting scent of the freshly ground Coffee beans that drifted through the confined space of The Lima Bean was overwhelming to the senses of the five teenagers gathered around the rectangular table. The sounds of coffee mugs clanking from the counter, indistinct chatter between customers and an animated jazz-like song played quietly in the background but everything about The Lima Bean sounded so familiar to them, especially to Blaine. As the five of them sat clutching each of their coffee cups, making brief pleasantries and catching up with each other, the conversation soon made a swift transition into the real reason each of them were gathered there today.<p>

"So, how is he Blaine? I mean Finn said he's doing well but - well you'll know better than any of us - how is he _really _doing?" Mercedes asked as she looked up through her eyelashes, both of her hands clasped around her coffee. Her head was slightly bowed and the sadness in her voice was unmistakable, as if she was afraid of the answer.

Blaine smiled sadly. "He's good. I mean as good as can be - there is no right or wrong way to deal with this but, I mean he's doing okay at the moment. He's Kurt - he's staying strong." They all smiled as they knew Kurts strength and determination was such a key characteristic of his identity and something they all love and admired him for.

"I think, at times, its still hard for him to adjust and accept everything that's happened but I don't think that's something that's going to go away instantaneously." Blaine continued. "I mean, he's 18 - This isn't something he should be having to live through. However, I think - in fact I _know_, that given everything, he's doing as well as can be. I just hope I'm good enough for him right now."

"You don't give yourself nearly enough credit" Rachel assured. "We all know that Kurt is a strong person but you - you're his _rock _Blaine and I think without you through all of this, he might have been at risk of crumbling."

"Yeah dude, Rachel's right" Finn smiled. "You know, I never told you or Kurt this but you know, I overhear you guys sometimes and I hear the way you talk to him and make him know that everything is going to be okay and the way you are with him and make sure he's comfortable - you really don't give yourself enough credit" Finn agreed which elicited a small, shy smile of gratitude from Blaine.

Blaine felt himself slump slightly to the side as David playfully nudged the side of him. "Fancy being my boyfriend Blaine?" He teased which made Blaines head roll backwards as he laughed loudly.

"I think that might be a bit of a problem because of a certain someone whose name begins with 'J'" Blaine said as he emphasised the 'J'. "And whatever argument you're in the middle of right now, you're still very much together D. Besides, I'm very, _very _happily spoken for thank you very much" he said beaming to which David waved his hand at.

Rachel smiled at the two best friends - she always liked to see Blaine interact with people outside of Kurt and the New Directions; it was nice to seem him interact with the people who he had met and known and grew to love in his life before he met the love of his life. So she smiled, but she was quick to get down to business, as Rachel always was. "So what's the reason we're all here today Blaine? All I've been told is that it is about Kurt and something for him but Finn wouldn't tell me anymore."

"You didn't tell her?" Blaines eyebrows crossed.

"Nah man I - I thought I'd leave that honour to you" Finn smiled proudly. "Besides, it was your brilliant idea in the first place - it should be your news to share."

Blaine mouthed a 'thank you' before clearing his throat. "Okay, well, I was thinking and I had a thought last night and obviously as you know, I talked it over with Finn and so, what would you guys think about holding a Concert in Kurts honour?"

A silence passed over the five of them as Mercedes and Rachels turned wide eyed, jaws nearly hitting the table and David promptly stopped drinking his Hazelnut Latte. The silence confused and worried both Finn and Blaine before someone spoke up.

"Are - are you kidding?" Rachel managed to breathe out and Blaine started to panic.

"I-I, I mean it would also be like a fundraiser to help Burt and Carole out with medical bills but it's mainly for Kurt because I thought it would be good for him but oh _god_, you hate the idea don't you?" Blaine rambled quickly, flinging his hands in every direction as the words came spilling frantically out of his mouth before resting it head in both of his hands.

"No" Rachel said, holding up a single finger. "No, no - I said are you kidding because, Blaine, it's - it's _genius!"_ she exclaimed brightly.

"Really? You - you really think so?" Blaine hedged warily.

"Are you kidding! Blaine, this is _seriously _a good idea" Mercedes beamed but was quickly overthrown by an enthusiastic Rachel who was practically squealing in her seat.

"A good idea? It's a _great _idea - It's brilliant, fantastic, it's - it's _perfect_!"

"I told you she would agree dude" Finn beamed as he stretched a closed fist over the table to fist pump Blaine.

Rachel swiftly turned in her seat to face Finn who was sitting to the side of her "Are you _kidding_!" She then sharply turned a full ninety degrees to face Blaine who was sitting directly in front of her. "You're kidding right? Did you seriously think I wouldn't agree?" Before Blaine could manage to get a word in edgeways, Rachels enthusiasm once again silenced him and stopped any opportunity for him to explain that yes, there was a little part of him that thought all of the people around the table right now might not like his idea. "A million ideas have already come into my head. Pen, pen - Who's got a pen?" She said as she mimicked grabbing actions with her hands. As she gratefully took the pen that David proudly presented within seconds, Rachel took the napkin from underneath her Blueberry Muffin and clicked the top of the pen. "Okay, so this is what I'm thinking at the moment."

It felt like hours had passed by since the five of them had first sat down to discuss the fundraiser and brainstormed numerous ideas. David had flirted with the barista at the counter into lending them some pieces of paper, to which she even gave his number to him at the top of one sheet. Several scrunched pieces were spread across the table as each of them had felt the increasing wrath of Rachel's curled fist as some ideas just clearly didn't work. There were more coffee cups on the table than there were people around the table but they had finally reached a plan. Blaine and David would organise The Warblers where they would sing a song and the New Directions would reunite to sing a song where Finn, as Kurts brother would take some form of lead. As Kurts best friends, Mercedes and Rachel insisted on singing a duet and Blaine would dedicate two songs to Kurt which he would sing by himself. They had also managed to call Mr Schuster who had given out his phone number to each of them on the last ever Glee Club meeting nearly 3 months ago insisting "Don't be a stranger". Mr Schu had heard about Kurt and completely fell in love with the idea of a benefit concert in his honour as Blaine explained everything over the phone. Mr Schu had expressed that they could use the Auditorium in September as the School would already be open for the Academic year so it wouldn't cost them anything to hire out and if they were okay with that, he would arrange all the details with Principal Figgins in the coming weeks - all they had to do was show up.

"Wait, wait" Finn piped in as they discussed holding the concert in September like Mr Schu had discussed with them. "What about Rachel and Mercedes? I mean I'm still going to be here working with Burt but I mean both of you are going to be halfway across the country in New York and California by that time."

Rachel scoffed as she shook her head and waved off the comment as if it was the silliest thing she had ever heard because to her, the solution was simple. "I'll fly back from New York Finn - it's not a problem. This is one of my best friends we're doing this for and you're going to have a pretty hard time keeping me from being a part of it."

"Me too Finn" Mercedes affirmed.

"Okay, well, what about David. I mean you're going to be back in Michigan right?"

"The drives like two hours Finn" David smirked. "Really, its not a problem at all. But to avoid any possible complications, how about we hold the benefit on a Saturday and then that way it doesn't interrupt too much with any of our school schedules and that way, we all have enough time to travel back down." They all agreed quickly.

"Blaine what about you?" Mercedes asked. "Are you even going back to Michigan?" They all stared intently as they waited for an answer and Blaine sighed as he rubbed a hand across his forehead. He knew this conversation was coming sooner or later.

"Actually, I've given it a lot of thought and - and I'm going to defer my place for a year." Everyone's eyes widened in shock but really, if they thought about it, they weren't in the least bit surprised.

"Blaine have you - have you _really _thought about this?" Rachel warily asked. "I mean don't get me wrong, I _completely _understand that you want to be with Kurt right now but you know, Burt and Carole will still be here and Finn's getting his apprenticeship from working at the garage so he'll be here too. I mean, this is your _life _Blaine."

"So you're telling me if the same thing happened to Finn, you wouldn't want to stay with him?" Blaine countered and Rachels eyes quickly fell to the table, concentrating on a minor, insignificant indent on the dark brown wood. "Rachel, I get it. I understand where you're coming from and yes, my degree is an important part of my life - of course it is, but when it comes down to it, Kurt _is _my life. This isn't a decision I rushed - you know, I gave it a lot of thought but the answer was always the same and was always pretty simple to be honest. Can you imagine if something happened to Finn and you were hours away from him? I can't imagine something happening to him and I'm not there for him. I was already a two hour drive away from him and even in the times before all of this, that was still too far for me. When I drove back down the night I got the news, those two hours - they were the longest two hours of my life and I don't plan on being that far away from him right now. I'm not throwing in the towel on my education guys - I'm just putting it on hold for a year and I already called my lecturer last week and he completely understood and said that as long as I completed the necessary paperwork for a deferred entry, they would openly welcome me back whenever I felt ready to come back."

"I understand man" David said as he patted Blaines shoulder and simultaneously broke the silence that had fell over the group throughout Blaines speech but they all smiled sadly and nodded sympathetically because they really did understand.

"Thank you" Blaine replied.

"Like I said Blaine, I get it - I really do and I really do admire you for this - that is a really selfless decision to make and you know that everyone supports you with whatever you decide." Rachel said with a smile. "If we just go back to the song list, Blaine I think, and if everyone agrees with me, that your two songs should be the last ones to be performed." Everyone's heads bobbed up and down in eager agreement as Rachel smiled at a baffled Blaine.

"Re-really? I mean, I - everyone is okay with that?" Blaine hedged as he darted his head around but was welcomed by nothing but supportive, smiling facial expressions.

"Blaine you seriously didn't think that the most important performing slot was going to go to just _anyone _did you?" Mercedes inquired.

"Well I just, you know, we're all an important part of Kurts life." Blaine defended and was confused as to when Finn started to laugh lightly.

"Blaine, yes, we are all play an important part in Kurts life but you - you're on another level of importance that not _any _of us can or even want to begin to compete with. Who was the first person Kurt ran into the arms of after being given his diploma? You. Who was the only person Kurt would talk to for two days after being crowned Prom Queen? You. Who is the only person who knows the full extent of what happened between Kurt and Karofsky? You. You _are _the most important person in his life and that spot is rightfully yours."

Blaine could feel the tears threatening to make themselves known to the world as him being allowed the closing spot meant the world to him and Finns speech heightened his emotions, but he pushed them back. Instead he whispered a gracious "thank you".

"Sooo" Rachel cooed. "Have you given any thoughts to what songs you might sing? Because I have quite a few suggestions - with them _obviously _being love songs and you know, I think -"

Typical of Blaine, he smiled and nodded politely at Rachels rambling but struggled to stifle a laugh as he made eye contact with Mercedes who was rolling her eyes at the girl next to her. He was suddenly pulled out of the current conversation by the sound of a message alert on his mobile that sat beside him on the table. His face lit up as he saw the message was from Kurt.

**From Kurt:**  
><em>Are you going to be home soon?<em>

"Ohh and how is said lover boy?" David teased from Blaines side. Evidently Blaine was unable to hide the smile that was stretched across his face from the seven, simple words sent from his boyfriend.

"Shut up" Blaine playfully murmured as he elbowed Davids side as he typed out a reply.

**From Blaine:**  
><em>Soon baby, I promise(L)<em>

"Anyway" Blaine started as he locked his phone, placing it back on the table, "Don't you have your own relationship to sort out?"

"All in good time my friend" David replied.

"Ooh trouble in paradise?" Mercedes said as she leaned closer towards the two best friends.

"I don't know if you could really call it 'Paradise' in the first place" David remarked with raised eyebrows as he sipped his coffee.

"Well whatever you want to call it, I'm _begging _you let me in on at least some of it - I cannot listen to Berry talk about how she listened to "The Man I Love" on repeat nearly every single day when her and Finn weren't together and how its one of Barbara's best love songs ever to be written."

The two boys looked over to Finn and Rachel and saw Rachel animatedly talking, hands flying all over the place and her head bobbing in emphasis whilst Finn stared at Blaine and David helplessly, as if he silently begging them to bring the conversation back to involving all five of them. When Rachel noticed that Finn had stopped responding to her, she lightly smacked him on the arm until his eyes met hers again, and she willingly continued.

"Ahh that's too funny to stop right now -" David chuckled. " - and besides, it might be good to get a girls point of view. Okay, so basically - "

Blaine was taking a sip of coffee before his message alert rang out again.

**From Kurt:  
><strong>_Okay. Good._

Suddenly, Blaine felt that something was wrong. Kurts texts felt short and to the point and that was something they never were. There would always be some use of emoticons or a couple of kisses at the end of the text.

**From Blaine:**  
><em>Are you okay babe?xx<em>

**From Kurt:  
><strong>_Yeah, I'm okay_

**From Blaine:**_**  
><strong>__Kurt...?_

**From Kurt:**  
><em>Blaine...?<em>

**From Blaine:  
><strong>_I'm coming home now, okay. I'll be 15 minutes(L)xx_

**From Kurt:**_  
>I love you(L)<em>

"So" Blaine heard Mercedes say as he was brought back into the conversation. "You don't remember what you said but you have a feeling you might have started the whole thing and now she won't answer any of your calls or texts. Boy I would _not _want to be in your shoes right now"

"Wow, thank you so _much _Mercedes" David teased. "You are about _just _as helpful as Blaine here" David said as he gestured to Blaine but instantly took a double take at his best friend. " - who seems to be putting on his jacket and leaving us?"

"Yeah, something has come up at home so I have to run. Besides, I think we've got everything pretty much covered here now" Blaine said.

Rachel turned to Blaine with widened eyes. "What, Blaine, no, no - you can't leave yet! I was just explaining to Finn how 'The Man I Love' is such an excellent love song and I highly recommend that you consider it as an option."

"Erm Rachel - " Blaine began as he placed his coffee cup in the bin behind him. " - The first line of that song is _"Some day he'll come along". _It's a song that is about waiting for the man you love to come your way but I don't have to wait - I already have him." Blaine smiled. "Now I really _do _have to go but whatever songs I do decide to sing, if it's alright with you guys, I'd kind of like to keep it to myself. I want it to be a surprise not only for Kurt, but for everyone else too."

"Blaine of - of _course _its okay. You don't even have to ask that - we trust you and your judgement and we all know that it'll be absolutely perfect because it'll be from you" Rachel said.

"Thank you" Blaine replied. "And guys, thank you, for everything."

"You don't need to thank us" Mercedes replied. "If anything, we should be thanking _you _for thinking of this all in the first place." Blaines eyes fell to the floor as he smiled. "Now go on, get out of here and go home to your boyfriend. Tell him we all said hi" she smiled.

"I'll be home soon" Finn called out as Blaine waved to the four teenagers before pushing the door to the Lima Bean open, walking out into the warm, July weather.

* * *

><p>As Blaine made the short drive home, he felt giddy as he couldn't direct his thoughts to anywhere or anything other than the fundraiser. He was so excited that it was all real and actually happening that he almost felt like a child on Christmas Eve. He knew that up to this point, he had helped Kurt as much as he could and had been there to support him through everything but with the fundraiser, this was something Blaine was going to be able to do <em>for <em>Kurt, something he didn't just have to sit idly by with and he couldn't _wait _to get started.

He ran up the stairs, desperate to see the face he had been deprived of for no less than 3 hours but always felt like an eternity. He pushed the door of his and Kurts bedroom to find Kurt sitting cross-legged on the bed, his hands in his lap and head bowed downwards.

"What's wrong" Blaine asked from the doorway. Kurt slowly looked up and Blaine saw the tear stained cheeks and the slight glisten in his piercing eyes.

"How did you know?" Kurt smiled sadly.

"I just, had a feeling" Blaine said softly as he tentatively walked further into the room. "Kurt?" he said as he reached the edge of the bed. It was as if the sympathetic tone of Blaines voice welcomed Kurt with a whole new set of tears as they relentlessly rolled down his already flushed cheek. Without hesitance or a second thought, Blaine kneeled onto the bed before sitting down, taking Kurt in his arms, bringing him as close to him as possible, attempting to give him as much comfort as he possibly could. Blaines heart started to crumble as he felt Kurts body shake in his arms and the side of his cardigan getting damper with every passing second.

"Shhh, shh, it's okay babe" he whispered as he stroked Kurt's hair away from his face, occasionally pressing kisses to his forehead. He just wanted to make everything, but right now, he had no idea if he even _could_.

Several minutes passed by before Kurt felt the tears had stopped enough for him to talk comfortably. Even though he didn't want to, he brought himself out of Blaines arms and sat upright. He instantly missed the familiar feeling of safety and comfort that being in Blaines arms brought him but he knew he had to be facing Blaine for this. He instead reached for Blaines hand, clasping it tightly in both of his.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he nervously fiddled with Blaines hand, still avoiding eye contact with his boyfriend.

"Don't be sorry" Blaine shook his head. He clasped his free hand around Kurts hands who was still holding tightly onto his other hand like it was his lifeline. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I thought I was done with the crying" he confessed quietly. "I didn't want to burden you with that as soon as you came home."

"Kurt" Blaine cooed. "Nothing you ever do will _ever _be a burden to me."

"Even when I'm dragging you up and down the mall countless times and then end up leaving with absolutely _nothing?_" He teased but and although Blaine could appreciate the joke, the humour was taken away by the obvious glistening of Kurts eyes.

"Even then" he answered. "Can you tell me what's wrong yet?" he gently suggested. Kurt took a shaky breath. "No pressure" He assured.

Kurt pouted his lips as he drew a breath inwards, steadying himself before beginning. "I erm - I was just getting ready. Just like normal, you know. I was dressed, I done my moisturising routine, everything was normal"

"Kurt?" Blaine gently pressed, never once letting go of Kurts shaking hand. Blaine knew he was stalling from what was truly bothering his boyfriend. "What happened?"

Kurt let go of his hands and shifted his body to the side as he slowly leaned backwards. He paused for a moment but as he turned back around to face Blaine, Blaine saw that Kurt was holding his hair brush. At first, Blaine thought nothing of it but when Kurt handed it to him, granting him a closer look at it, Blaine noticed that there was more hair in there than usual, so much that the black pad was barely visible as strands of strands of light chestnut hair covered it entirely. And given the situation they were in, Blaine very quickly understood. And Blaine completely got it. This was why Kurt had been so upset. Blaine knew that Kurt wasn't a vain person in any way but his hair was just part of who he was, it was something he took pride in and was part of his identity. So he immediately understood that to see a fair amount of something that was part of his identity fall out, completely beyond his control, Blaine knew that that must have been both shocking and _heartbreaking_.

"This is stupid" Kurt scoffed and for the first time in minutes, Blaine looked up and into Kurts eyes. He hadn't even noticed that Kurt had started to cry again. "This shouldn't be affecting me this much right? I mean it was a risk. I knew it was a possible side effect from the chemo and so it was bound to happen sooner or later right - I should have expected it. But, I don't know, I just - just watching it happen and watching how _easily _it came out." He shook his head as if he was recalling a bad memory, but really, this was a bad memory. "I ran my fingers through it at one point -" he continued, " - and there was just strands of it in between my fingers and I just, started to cry. It's just, its just all yet _another _reminder that is all real and happening and it's something that I can never really control and I - I.."

Blaine instantly pulled Kurt back into his arms as he started to sob violently, his breathing was erratic as his chest heaved heavily. Blaine positioned them do they were slightly laying down on the bed. Kurt tangled their legs together and wrapped an arm across Blaines stomach as he curled into his side, inhaling the comforting scent that was just _Blaine_. Blaine pressed his cheek into the bed of Kurts hair as he slightly rocked them. "Shh, Shh it's okay, _you're_ okay. I've got you" he whispered, the only sound filling the room was Kurts heart wrenching sobs and shaky breathing as he attempted to calm himself down.

"What am I going to do if it all falls out?" Kurt whispered quietly into Blaines side after a few minutes.

"You'll still be beautiful to me" Blaine replied instantaneously, not a single ounce of hesitance was audible in his voice.

"Really?" the sceptic in Kurt came busting out of its shell. " So you're saying you'll still love me even if I look like Magic Johnson at the tender young age of 18." Blaine took some comfort as he heard the unmistakable tone of wittiness in Kurts remark that was just so, perfectly _him_.

"You know who Magic Johnson even is?" Blaine genuinely asked as he looked down at Kurt, His eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise

"I've lived with Finn for over two years now and my dad for even longer" Kurt pointed out. "I've had to endure _several _Basketball games over the years so you tend to pick up on these things. But I'm not so sure I can quite rock that look" he quipped.

Blaine laughed softly as he snuggled Kurt further into his side. "Well in that case - " he sighed contently. "I wouldn't care if you do end up looking like Magic Johnson because I love _you _and no matter what, I will continue to love you until my dying day."

* * *

><p>The following week passed by fairly normally after the Sunday before. Apart from the everyday, natural loss of hair, Kurt hadn't endured any more episodes like he had the week before but Blaine could see the hesitance within him as he stood in front of the mirror every morning styling his hair. Each brush of the hair and movement of his fingers through it were considerably slower and more delicate than normal, as if he was just waiting for something to happen so Blaine was relieved when nothing did happen, but he wasn't too sure if this would always be the case - after all, Kurt still had four more months of chemotherapy treatments left. This Sunday was extremely different to the one before which was certainly not unwelcome. Blaine and Kurt made good on the term 'day of rest' that was associated with the ultimate day of the long week. On one edge of the bed, Kurt was lying flat on his stomach, legs crossed and dangling in the air as he hummed in approval as he intently read his latest copy of Vogue that had arrived in the mail the day before whilst Blaine lay with his head against the headboard on the other side, reading his slightly worn copy of 'The Lord Of The Flies'. Blaine would occasionally grab Kurts legs and blow raspberries onto his exposed ankles which had Kurt in a fit of giggles. Once he'd calmed down he'd exert revenge onto his boyfriend by poking his foot onto a body part of his choice. So far he had claimed Blaines shoulder, his hip and his stomach. It was all just so comfortable and normal.<p>

"When you were younger, Did you ever wish that you could be in 'Lord Of The Flies'? Blaine wondered.

Kurt rolled onto his back to peer up to his boyfriend in wonderment. "What?"

"You know, stranded on an island, there were no adults around and they had a plane there too. I mean when you're 11 or 12, that's pretty cool. Me and David always said that would have been pretty cool anyway" Blaine confessed.

"But half of them turn into savages" Kurt stated. "And didn't they kill their own friend?"

"Yeah Simon, but they thought he was the beast of the island" Blaine enthusiastically stated.

"Hmmm" Kurt pondered. "I liked the book but when I was younger, unlike my strange boyfriend who dreamt of being stranded on a island, I dreamt of finding love and romance - finding my own prince charming" he cooed.

"Hmmm - Well I guess you're going to have to keep working on that one" Blaine teased but Kurt had no objection in playing along.

"Oh I _completely _agree. In fact, I was thinking about getting rid of the guy I'm seeing now" Kurt non chalantly remarked. Blaine started to lean himself forward, gradually resting on his stomach as he slowly leaned closer into Kurt.

"Oh is that right?" Blaine cooed

"Yeah" Kurt sighed "I've kind of had enough of him now"

"Oh really? Is that so? Really? Really?" Blaine muttered as he continued leaning forward before suddenly looping an arm over Kurts stomach and began to relentlessly tickle his hips. Kurt immediately cried out in laughter.

"Still want to get rid of him now?" Blaine teased

"Yeah he's the _WORST_" Kurt managed to splutter out in between his laughing fit which made Blaine tickle harder. Kurt thrashed and rolled around on the bed before calling out "Defeat, Defeat - I admit defeat" Blaine sat himself up and went back to lying down and Kurt quickly followed him, swinging an arm over his waist.

"You're such a dork" Kurt muttered before both of them burst out laughing over their antics.

"Boys" Carole called out from behind the door before pushing it open to find Kurt and Blaine on the bed, every possible limb tangled together as they giggled uncontrollably. "Oh, I haven't interrupted anything have I?"

Kurt playfully smacked Blaines chest as he pulled himself out of his arms. "No, no Carole - nothing like that. We were just fooling around." Kurt offered

"You know that doesn't sound any better to what she's thinking" Blaine murmured as he leaned into Kurt, earning another light hearted smack to his arm but then quickly intertwined their hands.

"So is everything okay?" Kurt questioned as he turned to face Carole who was smiling, still waiting patiently in the doorway of their room.

"Yes, it's just - would you boys mind coming downstairs for a moment. Burt and I would like to talk to you all about something"

"Is everything okay" Blaine asked and saw that his worried expression was mirrored by Kurts.

"Yes sweetie, everything's okay. Just - we'll see you in a minute?"

"Yeah. Yeah we'll be right down" Kurt said, the worry that was still etched onto his face clearly evident in his voice too. Carole smiled and nodded before closing the door behind her.

"She's okay, right?" Kurt thought aloud as Carole left the room.

"She _said _she is, but -" Blaine trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I mean she had that doctors appointment yesterday, you know from when she had been sick all those times a couple of weeks ago" Kurt said as he and Blaine got off either sides of the bed. "And she didn't talk to any of us about it, only Dad."

They walked around their respective sides to meet right in the middle at the end of the bed.

"Carole said she's fine Kurt" Blaine assured as he took both of Kurts hands in his, hanging them in the little space between them. "And Carole doesn't lie."

"yeah but Mothers would do or say anything to not hurt their children or at least save them from worrying, even if they find out eventually" Kurt countered. Blaine leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead.

"I'm sure she's okay" Blaine assured before walking the two of them out of the room.

As they walked down the stairs, they saw that Finn was already sitting on the couch and Burt and Carole standing in the middle of the room as they waited for the two of them. As Kurt trailed behind Blaine, who was leading them to the empty seats on the couch, their fingers still laced together, Kurt mouthed a quick "Do you know anything" to which Finn shrugged his shoulders, his silent reply of clarifying "No". They all quickly settled down, anxious to know what exactly was going on. Burt exhaled deeply as Carole clapped her hands together.

"Do you want to tell them" Burt asked as he turned to his wife.

"I don't mind" Carole smiled.

"Well, what do you think?"

"I think we should both tell them" Carole said.

"Can _SOMEONE_, please just tell us what's going on" Kurt sniped impatiently. The small talk between his parents wasn't helping as he was getting more and more anxious by the minute. The last time they had been in a situation similar to this was at the start of his diagnosis and Kurt was anxious to hear that a similar fate hasn't been cast upon his own step mom. He'd already lost one Mother in his life and his dad had not only lost a wife, but also a best friend and he certainly didn't want history to repeat itself - not when they were all so happy.

"Okay" Carole breathed. "Well, as you know, I haven't been feeling too peachy these last few weeks and when I went to the Doctors yesterday, we done some tests and - and they gave me some news."

"But, I thought you were just ill?" Finn asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Well that's what I thought sweetie, but- "

"But what? I mean, what did - Mom, you're not s-sick, are you?" Finns voice dropped heartbreakingly low, as if he was scared of the answer. Kurt and Blaines eyes darted backwards and forwards from Finn and Carole.

"Actually sweetie, It's quite the opposite." Finn slowly looked up to make eye contact with his mum while Kurt and Blaine, although still confused, waited patiently. Carole looped an arm around Burts waist as Burt placed a firm hand to Caroles back. The few seconds it took for the next sentence to be revealed felt as though hours had passed by.

"I'm pregnant" Carole announced, both her own and Burts face breaking out into the widest of smiles although the expressions of the three teenage boys who sat on the sofa were quite the opposite. Jaws had dropped and each of the six eyeballs looked as though they were all so close to popping out of their eye sockets.

"I erm - what?" Finn spluttered

"Pregnant, Finn" Carole clarified. "And I know I'm not getting younger but I'm six weeks gone according to the results which explains why I'd been sick in the last two weeks."

None of them could quite believe it. They all sat in silence as they processed the huge impact this one word would now have on their lives.

"Alright boys, I know this is a bit of a shock but, could you at least say something. You're kind of making me nervous here" Carole laughed nervously as he curled further into Burt, as if she was seeking a comfort she wasn't exactly getting from the three struck teenagers.

"I just erm, just in shock" Finn muttered.

"It's a shock" Blaine stated as he rose up off of the couch, deciding to be the first one to break the ice, "But this child will be insanely lucky to have you two as parents" he finished as he embraced Carole into a hug.

"Thank you sweetie" Carole whispered as she rested her chin on Blaines shoulder. As they pulled away, Carole held him by his arms and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. "This is your family too, okay" she whispered so only Blaine could hear as she gestured to her stomach and although it was still completely flat and showed no signs of a life growing inside, Blaine felt extremely touched by the little but beautiful moment the two of them had just shared because he knew exactly what she meant. And it meant the world to him. He mouthed a thank you and moved towards Burt.

"Get over here Bud" Burt waved him over.

"Congratulations Burt" Blaine laughed as he easily settled into the hug. They enthusiastically clapped each other on the back.

"So, you're really pregnant" Finn stated and everyone turned to face him.

"Well when you were younger, you always said to me how all you wanted more then all the Christmas presents in the world was a brother or sister. Now's your chance" Carole smiled as Finn walked towards his mom with open arms.

"I am - I am so, so happy for you Mom. I know I was shocked but really, I am happy for you" Finn smiled as he hugged Carole.

"Its okay sweetie. I'm still shocked now" Carole chuckled over Finns shoulder. As she pulled away, she brought her hand up to his cheek, stroking it affectionately. "Kurt, honey are you okay?" she lovingly asked as Kurt still sat on the sofa, an unreadable expression on his face. One even Blaine couldn't quite place, but he knew it wasn't good.

"Yeah buddy I thought you'd be climbing the walls by now desperate to call dibs on decorating the nursery" Burt teased.

"I'm okay dad" Kurt chirped but Blaine had a feeling the tone of his voice didn't truly reflect how he felt. Kurt eventually stood up to embrace both Carole and Burt, congratulating them both. "I'm really happy for you" he smiled.

"So what do you think? You going to decorate the nursery for us?" Burt eagerly suggested. "You know you're the only person in this house who _truly _understands the intricacies of interior design"

Burt, Carole, Finn and Blaine all laughed because of how true that statement really way. Burt and Carole still rave to this day on how beautiful the Autumn colour scheme of their wedding had been and in general, just how beautiful everything had been put together, attention had been paid to every single detail and it was simply _perfect_. Even Finn praised Kurt for how well he had organised the event and from the pictures Blaine had seen, he knew that Kurt was obviously gifted in this area. If Kurt could plan such a beautiful wedding, they all had no doubt he could decorate an exquisite, beyond perfect nursery for his future sibling.

"I erm - Sure" Kurt nodded. As cries of "excellent" and "thank you Kurt" were heard across the room, Blaines eyes never left Kurts. As Kurt turned to him, Blaine mouthed a subtle "are you okay?". Kurt's lips slightly twitched into a smile but Blaine wasn't convinced. He wasn't convinced for a second.

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><p><strong>An - Sooo? I know, an agsty ending - Urgh i know!**  
><strong>This chapter was supposed to be longer - like I had two more parts planned for it but I'm still planning the dialogue for the second part in my head and I really want to get that right because, well to me, I find it important and I want it to make you cry ;) No I'm not that cruel but I do want the dialouge to feel and sound right and conpletely truthful and not cliche or anything:)<strong>

**I know the Pregnancy storyline is kind of a bit sudden - I did try and allude to it in the last chapter because I realised i needed to allude to Carole not feeling quite right before this chapter and obviously because I spend so much time focusing on our two lovely boys, I forgot to spend more time on this but this storyline will be a consistent plot throughout the story  
><strong>

**So the next chapter will be the fundraiser (with these two extra scenes from this chapter too) :) and there'll be a plot device at the end of it ;O **  
><strong>I do however have my A level exams in the next few weeks so I'm literally revising at any time I can (whenever my teachers aren't shoving essays at me :L) so im so sorry but there is probably going to be a delay - nothing like this one but I just really do need to concentrate on them as its my last year of College:) I'll probably still be writing it but there just wont be a complete chapter for me to give you guys but I promise, you'll get it as soon as I'm finished:) <strong>

**So answering reviews :)**

**Mid-morning-rain - Awwh i'm glad you liked Chapter 10 babe:) Ah i know that feeling about life being insanee! I hope you're okay and your lifes not too insane right now**

**peanutmeg - Thank you so much darling for saying that about my Great Aunt:) That means a lot. And my best freinds okay now:) obviously :L She had to be rushed to hospital because she had appendicitus but she's fine now:) **  
><strong>Ahh gosh thank you so much for saying the allusion to marriage was well written - I was so nervous that it wouldnt be realistic so you really put my worries to rest:)<strong>

**Jazz - Well i am completely honoured that my story was the first AU fic you read and the fact that this is the second time you're reading it - well that just means everything to me so thank you so muchh!**

**Spooked Kitten - Thank you so much for saying that about my understanding of the American Health Care System and im glad this plot it still realistic:) **  
><em><br>Oh, also I think it is great that you did research as well. It makes the story so much easier to read when it is so well put together_  
><strong>That put the biggest smile on my face so thank youu:) <strong>  
><strong>Oh i know LOL - I'm a sucker for fluff even in an Angst fic :L I swear i dont go a chapter without writing some sort of fluff :L <strong>

**So I would absolutely love you all if you just took a little time to add a review to this -**  
><strong>Reviews really do make my day:)<strong>

**Until next time my lovelys(L)xx**


	13. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: Well i still suck at updating - what's new. I cannot believe how long it's been, like I'm genuinely so sorry! You might even have to go read Chapter 11 just to remind yourselves of everything! Like i told you all before, I had my a level exams (which I get my results for on Thursday actually) and I just didn't write anything during that time - I didn't do anything other than work it was so stressful. I didn't officially leave College until the end of June and I've literally been writing this since around the start of July. It took me a while to find my feet again with this so the first couple of weeks were pretty hard getting back into writing this but as soon as I did, well let's just say I'm so happy to be writing again!:)**

**Again, as always, a huge thank you to everyone who alerted, reviewed, favourited etc - you guys are what keep this story going. Again, I'll be answering reviews at the bottom:)**

**This chapter is literally the longest I have EVER wrote and I did consider splitting it into 2 but I thought seeing as I've made you guys wait nearly 3 months, I'd leave it as it was so 27 pages and 14, 943 words later, here it is - I really hope you enjoy**!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee**

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><p>Chapter 12<p>

Dinner that night was filled with enthusiastic chatter as the main topic of conversation, as expected centred around the recent news of Caroles pregnancy. The happy parents-to-be beamed with happiness as they listened to Finn excitedly proclaim that whether his new sibling be a boy or a girl, it was his own personal aim to show them why they should support the same football team like their older brother. Blaine smiled and laughed too, easily fitting into the conversation. Kurt answered animatedly when asked a question which varied from how he felt about gaining a sibling to trivial matters such as which colours he was initially thinking of for the babies room but judging by the way Kurt idly danced his fork around the plate as he monotonously twirled and untwirled the same strands of spaghetti on his plate, Blaine could tell that something wasn't quite right.

They were the last ones to head upstairs to bed. After the big day that they had had, Burt and Carole had already settled in for the night and Rachel was just _bursting _to hear the full story from Finn and so Blaine and Kurt were not too shocked to hear Finn's wasted attempts to calm Rachel down over the phone as they passed his room, explaining to her that if his sibling wanted to learn to sing, that would be their choice. As the two boys settled into bed that night, Kurt comfortably lying slightly atop of Blaines chest as he used it as a pillow, his hand resting on top too rather then making use of the actual pillows on the bed, Blaine couldn't rid the burning question in his head as he happily wrapped his arm around his boyfriend. He contemplated not even asking as he knew from experience that when Kurt was ready to open up, he would talk about whatever he was feeling however he also knew from experience that when something was painful for Kurt, he tended to bottle up the emotions he was feeling, hidden and kept a secret from the rest of the world.

"Can I ask you something?" Blaine asked suddenly. He didn't want Kurt to bottle anything that he was feeling. Anything that was Kurts problem was Blaines problem too.

"You know you can ask me anything babe" Kurt replied as he nestled himself impossibly deeper into Blaines chest.

"Yeah I know" Blaine whispered.

"Then what is it?" Kurt asked. The room was suddenly silent. Kurt shuffled so he could angle his head to face Blaine who seemed to just be staring into nothing. "Blaine?" Kurt prompted

"Are you..." Blaine sighed, unsure of how to word the question he so desperately wanted to ask. "You're happy about the baby, right?" he asked gently. He felt Kurt's body slightly stiffen under his arm.

"Of - of course I am" Kurt proclaimed after a short but much too long period of silence. "It's my baby brother or sister - why wouldn't I be happy?" To anyone else, the answer might have been convincing enough for a line to be drawn and to have the subject be left at that. But not to Blaine. He wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure?" he gently pressed as he rubbed soft circles into Kurts upper arm, sometimes moving to his back. "Because, I don't know, you just - you seem a bit distant" he pondered aloud. Blaine felt that he was on the right path as he felt it was no coincidence that Kurt had stopped rubbing his thumb against the fabric of Blaines shirt where his hand rested. "I mean, you haven't said much all day unless someone directly asked you a question and when Carole was talking about the two of you going shopping for clothes for both her and the baby, well you didn't seem as enthusiastic as I know Kurt Hummel would normally be at an opportunity for fashion. You didn't say much at dinner either - you barely ate anything too." Blaine paused for a while, still rubbing comforting patterns into Kurts arm. He didn't want Kurt to think he was accusing him of anything. He just wanted to help. "Baby it's just, whatever is bothering you, it's bothering me too - your problems are my problems too. We share everything Kurt and-" he sighed gently before continuing, "Just - I just want to make you feel better. Tell me whenever you're ready, but only if you want to. I just want you to know that I'll always be waiting." He could've sworn he heard Kurt sniffle in the silence of the room but he didn't say anything.

"I'm scared" Kurt whispered after a few minutes of silence had passed by. Blaine angled his head slightly to look at Kurt from the corner of his eye.

"What are you scared of babe?" Blaine asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Because what if - what if I never get to meet them" Kurt quietly confessed, still laying across Blains chest and avoiding all eye contact with his concerned boyfriend.

"What?" Blaine seemed confused. Kurt gently raised himself from the comfort of Blaines arms and sat upright on the bed, Blaine following his lead closely behind. Kurt ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling deeply. "Kurt?" Blaine gently whispered from his side. "What did you mean by that?"

"I meant exactly what I said. What if I don't ever get to meet them Blaine." Kurt said, his gaze cast downwards as he nervously toyed with his fingers as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. "What if-" he continued "- by the time my own brother or sister is born into this world, I might have already left it." he whispered. "What if I'm not around to see them grow up."

Blaine was startled by his boyfriends revelation. He knew that something was bothering Kurt but this - this he hadn't expected. When he thought about it though, he saw that this was a completely realistic reaction for Kurt to have and he whole heartedly understood why he would be worried about this and suddenly, he almost felt disappointed in himself that he hadn't thought of it before. Some of Blaine's first thoughts at the news were how lucky this baby was to have a family like the Hummel Hudson's with loving siblings and indescribable parents like Burt and Carole as he knew how much, in their own ways, each of the family members had helped Blaine in some form. But admittedly, a lot of his initial thoughts were how he and Kurt could be involved in the baby's life, together and all the things they could do with him or her. He didn't ever want to consider the possibility of a world without Kurt. And he didn't want to start now.

"Kurt, you - you will be" he stuttered out, desperate to reassure both Kurt and himself. The sight that then graced his eyes could have broken his heart into two right there and then as Kurt looked up at him, tears flowing freely down his flushed cheeks.

"Can you promise that?" he cried, the crack in his voice audible. "Because I can't."

"Kurt, I -" Blaine started as he gently wiped away the fallen tears on Kurts face with the side of his thumbs.

"We don't know what is going to happen to me." Kurt said, startling Blaine with his bluntness. "I mean right now, we don't even have any idea if the chemotherapy is even working or not and we won't know until the 'halfway point' check up in September. Right now, all that we are going on is pure hope and luck, but what if lucks not on our side?" Kurt could tell that this was upsetting for Blaine to hear as he averted his gaze, Kurts cheeks feeling instantly colder from where Blaine had removed his hands. Although hearing it wouldn't be any easier, Kurt softened his tone and took one of Blaines hands and clasped it softly in his own. "Things could take a sudden, horrible turn. We have to consider the possibility that - that I might not be here at some point and that when they're born, I might be nothing more than a memory."

"Kurt this, you - " Blaine shook his head as words failed him. "You're going to be fine. You're going to fight this okay, and you already are."

"Blaine, I love you more than anything and your optimism is one of the things I love about you the most, but for just one moment, can we be realistic? There isn't some part of you that thinks that things might not work out?" Kurt exclaimed.

"Do you?" Blaine questioned to which Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know what to think anymore" he simply replied. "Some days I think that yes, maybe things will be okay and you and me will live a fabulous life together somewhere where we'll live in a house that we can call our own and everyone will be even more insanely jealous of us than they are now because we'll still be the happiest we have ever been and we'll be sitting in a nursing home when we're in our seventies, gracefully growing old together." The smile that had been planted on Blaines face at the image of their future was soon wiped clear with Kurts next comment. "Some days, I feel as if I'm a ticking time bomb. You know, its bad enough not knowing whether I'm going to survive this or not and we don't talk about it but I know you, dad and everyone else feels the exact same way. But now, I'm going to have a little baby brother or sister - something I always wanted and - and I might not even get to meet them. You know, I might not ever get to hold them in my arms or take them to the park or give them ice cream at night time when I know they shouldn't have any. I might not be able to help them with their homework or to give them advice about boys or girls when that time comes because god knows what kind of advice Finn would give them. There's so much I want to be able to do that now, the possibility of not being able to do all of those simple things is all I can think about." Kurt immediately fell forward into Blaines arms as he completely broke down, his body violently shaking as he lost control of his breathing. Blaine instantly hugged Kurt closer to him, rubbing his back and whispering sweet nothings into his ear as he attempted to calm him down although a few tears had escaped his own eyes too. He desperately tried to push them back but Kurts words had been too powerful, too hard hitting that when he recalled what he had heard minutes earlier, the tears flowed so easily that he couldn't stop them. Blaine felt Kurt tightly grasp the fabric of his t-shirt, seeking more comfort as he buried his head deeper into Blaines chest which only made Blaine hold onto him tighter than before. Blaine slowly brought Kurt down with him to lie down on the bed, still holding Kurt in his arms. He tangled one of his legs over Kurts in an attempt to bring to two of them closer together, never once breaking the contact between them.

It could quite easily have been hours that had passed by with the two boys lying on the bed in silence, Blaines arms still wrapped around Kurt and Kurts arm draped over Blaines waist, embracing each other because in that moment, all they wanted and all they needed was each other and right then, it felt as though the feeling of the other offered more comfort than words ever could.

"Kurt?" Blaine whispered to which Kurt hummed in acknowledgement.

"I know you don't, I mean I don't want to - I _can't, _but have you - I've been thinking and maybe we could make a video tape or something."

"Blaine Anderson, please don't tell me you just suggested making a sex tape after everything that happened tonight" Blaine could hear the amusement in his tone as he mumbled his reply, his head buried underneath Blaines chin and his forehead pressed into Blaines chest.

"No" Blaine chuckled. "No no, I mean, a tape of you, being you. I don't know, I've heard of people doing it, you know when people think they're going to - " He stopped. He couldn't say it - the word just felt like acid on his tongue. Blaine suddenly felt the soothing sensation of Kurt softly running his hand up and down Blaines back, as if he was silently letting him know that it was okay - he knew what he meant. " - you know, well they make tapes of themselves."

"You mean something similar to how Shelby made the recording for Rachel?" Kurt queried

"Yeah exactly. I mean - I just I thought - " Blaine slowly trailed off. He wanted to say something like "I thought it would be a nice way for them to remember you, for you to tell them everything you want to, so they could see how amazing you truly are where pictures could never do you justice" but it was all wrong. Talking about Kurt in the past tense was verbally and physically wrong.

"I get it" Kurt whispered, swiftly taking control of the conversation from Blaine because without even having to lift his head to look at his boyfriend, Kurt knew this was hard for him and although the words were unspoken between the two of them, it was clear to both of them that they were on the same page.

"I understand" Kurt said before he shuffled himself out from underneath Blaines chin and settled himself onto the pillow so that now both he and Blaine were lying on their sides, face to face. Kurt reached his hand out and started to softly run his fingers through Blaines curls. Blaine shut his eyes and nuzzled further into the comforting sensation.

"I even like it" he continued. "I - I'd want to do it sooner rather than later though. I'd want them to remember me like this - not as someone I might become in the future because that wont be the true me. I want them to know the real me" he confessed, almost in a whisper. Blaine nodded slowly in agreement.

"I know. And they will. I promise." Although it was his idea, more than anything, Blaine wished that the unborn child would never even have to see the video but either way, he was adamant that they would know how completely _indescribable_Kurt Hummel truly was and that they are lucky to call him their brother.

* * *

><p>The month of August had arrived and everyone was rushed off of their feet. With the fundraiser being a mere month away, several hours had been put into the planning and preparation of it. Days after the initial meeting in The Lima Bean, the remaining ex Warblers and New Direction members had each been informed in some way of the concert and it was a clear testament to how much love and admiration each and every one of them held for Kurt considering how quickly they all agreed, despite whatever their schedules entailed. With Tina as head of the yearbook committee that year and having crucial contacts with printing companies they knew would be needed, Finn had texted her early on into the month to ask for her help in creating programmes for the evening. Each of the core five planners admired how beautifully the yearbook had been put together and although she agreed without a second thought, they all were relieved when she did in fact accept because they were all in agreement that even something as small as the programme being made by someone who Kurt loved and who equally loved him back was a lovely personal touch. Inboxes were full and phones were ringing more than ever as everyone kept each other up to date on progress and either Blaine or Finn attended to queries that were made.<p>

With Blaine singing his own songs to Kurt and therefore not participating in The Warblers segment, it was easy for them all to meet up and practice without Kurt suspecting anything. Of course Kurt didn't mind one little bit when Blaine told him a few times that he was going to meet up with some friends, proclaiming to Blaine "It's good for you to see your friends. You'll get bored of me otherwise". And that was the truth - Blaine was seeing his friends. But what Kurt didn't know was that he was in fact sitting in on their rehearsals. The first time he'd gone to watch had been emotional because seeing all of his and Kurts friends together for the reason they were all together again was somewhat overwhelming.

It wasn't only The Warblers that were hard at work though as The New Directions were too. Again, Kurt had no reason to suspect anything unusual as Finn leaving the house on a regular basis to see Rachel was as normal as Blaine singing along to the radio in the shower every morning. However again, he was oblivious to the fact that a few miles down the road, in Rachel Berrys basement-converted-music room, each and every member of his old Glee Club family were gathered together just like they had been a few months before, singing and harmonising until their voices were ready to crack. With several members of both groups moving out of town, some of them even moving out of the state to settle into their new homes and begin their orientation processes before going on to their respective universities, they were glad that performing was something they now all had years of practice in. They were rushing against the clock to make sure that everything was as perfect as it could be as they would have a limited amount of rehearsal time once everyone was reunited but it was a challenge they openly accepted.

One morning after Breakfast whilst Kurt was in the shower getting ready, Blaine and Finn took the opportunity to tell Burt and Carole about their plans for the fundraiser. As they explained their plans that all of the money raised from the evening was all to go towards helping with all of the expenses of Kurts treatments, Burt was left speechless whilst Carole sat next to him, crying tears of pride at their idea. They both expressed how much they loved the idea and that was that.

The days were passing quickly and as per scheduled for the middle of the month, Kurt underwent his third chemotherapy session. As he grew more accustomed to the process with each session, it was all a little easier than before and although sitting in a single armchair for four consecutive hours with limited room for movement, falling in and out of consciousness with a needle inserted through the back of his hand was not exactly Kurts definition of fun, the whole process still ran smoothly. He was just grateful that Blaine was with him, every step of the way. The two boys eventually both fell asleep and were only awoken when Steph came back into the room, gently nudging the two of them before turning off the machine and carefully removing the needle, gently wiping the injection site on Kurts skin clean with an antiseptic wipe. Steph grabbed a chair and brought it closer to Kurt and Blaine as she explained in more detail why the 'halfway point' check up that had been briefly mentioned to them before was a crucial appointment.

"It's the doctors early indication to see how your body is responding to the chemotherapy" Steph began to explain to them. "You know by this point, you will have had three courses of treatments so we've given it a substantial amount of time to run its course and we can just see if it really is progressing with the treatment of the cancer cells or if its not." They nodded in understanding. "If everything's good and the chemotherapy is looking like it's doing what it should be doing, then that's excellent and you carry on like normal and finish the other three treatments in your six month course and if things don't look too good right now, then we start looking into other options such as adding radiotherapy treatments on top of your chemotherapy treatments which is more intense but it doubles our chances of success and tackling the cells or there's also the option of bone marrow treatment." They scheduled the appointment right there and then for September 20th.

It was no surprise to them that as soon as they got home that day, Kurt went straight to bed, falling into bursts of deep sleep's very easily after such a gruelling day and only eating the soup that Carole heated up for him when awoken by Blaine. It was also no surprise that as the sun began to rise again, marking a new day, Kurt was rudely awoken with the sudden, familiar churning feeling in his stomach but after going through this process two times already, both he and Blaine were more than prepared. The bin had already been moved next to Kurts side of the bed to save him the run to the bathroom, especially in the first few days of recovery when he still felt lethargic and weak and when rest was essential. Although he was fast asleep himself, it was almost as if Blaine was mentally tuned into the situation as he woke up instantly, squinting and blinking rapidly to clear the sleep from his vision. However still bleary eyed, he sat himself up to sit beside Kurt, rubbing soft circles into his back, gently placing the occasional kiss to his shoulder as his boyfriend hunched over the bed, groaning in pain. Once the vomiting had subsided, Blaine gently pushed Kurt to lie back down before crossing the room to get a glass of one of cold water and a strip of tablets from the vanity cabinet. It was Blaines idea to keep four glasses upstairs for emergencies such as now to save them the journey of going downstairs and they had divided up the tablets equally so that half of them were upstairs in their bathroom cabinet and the other half were downstairs in the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. They had thought of nearly everything and were prepared for all the possibilities that could be thrown their way. As expected, the next few days passed in a similar fashion. The boys spent much of those days watching countless films and watching trashy daytime television that they knew should be awful but couldn't help it being a guilty pleasure. The scandalous stories and DNA tests on 'Jeremy Kyle USA' had them both gasping but mostly, they simply just enjoyed being with each other. Rachel and Mercedes even dropped by one day to have one last "Girls day in" with their honorary girl before they both jetted to either sides of the country a week later.

As well as Rachel and Mercedes parents, Finn, Kurt and Blaine had made their way to the busy terminals of the Dayton International airport to say their goodbyes. Announcements were constantly being make and strangers all around them, saying both their 'goodbyes' and 'hellos' made none of this easier for any of them: the goodbyes had them feeling empathetic and the hellos left them jealous. For Kurt, he thought this would be the last time he would see either of his best friends until at least Thanksgiving, if not even Christmas break. However what he was completely unaware of was that both of his best friends had plans to fly back into Ohio in exactly two weeks as it was now the penultimate week in the month of August and the fundraiser was now a mere 3 weeks away.

* * *

><p>"So what time is Rachel flying back in today?" Blaine asked as he walked around the bedroom, gathering together the things he needed that were scattered in various places.<p>

"Half one" Kurt answered from the bed as he aimlessly flicked through a magazine. It had been two weeks since Rachel and Mercedes had left Ohio. Rachel had rung Kurt specially to tell him that she was flying back into Ohio for Hirams birthday. Of course everyone else but Kurt knew that wasn't the only reason she was flying back home as she flew in exactly one week before the Fundraiser. The phone call was pretty one sided as Rachel excitedly rambled into the receiver with the words "You, me, sleepover, take out and movies and that's non negotiable" ringing in Kurts ears. Before he too could express his mutual excitement, he was forced to hang up as Rachel said she had just reached the subway and she would see him next week, not before pro longing a "love you" down the phone. Gosh did he miss his best friend and her antics. "You said you're spending the night at Davids right?" Kurt asked as he looked up from his magazine.

Blaine and Finn had managed to sort out the remaining final details for the night. The programmes were to be printed and delivered to Mr Schuster's office a week before the fundraiser. It was easier to have them delivered straight to the school as that was where they were to be handed out and most importantly, they were kept out of Kurts eyesight. Artie had designed the lighting and sound and Mr Schuster had already contacted Finn to let him know that as long as he sent a set list to him when school started up again - a week before the fundraiser - he would sit down and organise everything with the band that played for the Glee Club rehearsals and performances. The word had been spread and tickets had been and were still being bought but Blaine and David wanted to make sure that everything truly was perfect and that they hadn't forgotten anything before David left in a few days time.

"Yeah. Well you and Rachel deserve to have some quality catch up time together - I'm sure you already have a lot to catch up on so while she stays over tonight, I'm going to spend some time with David before he goes back to Michigan" Blaine casually remarked.

"Okay. Hey, erm - " Blaine looked at Kurt to find him slowly closing the magazine he had previously been reading. " - now that you mentioned it, about Michigan..."

"What about it?" Blaine wondered as he picked up his phone, unplugging it from the charger before slipping it into his back pocket.

"I just, I mean I know you deferred for me and I can't even put into words how much that means to me but, are you truly okay with that? Because I don't want to hold you back in any way."

"Hey" Blaine cooed. He climbed onto the bed to sit next to Kurt, taking one of Kurts hands in his. He used his other free hand to gently clasp Kurts chin, softly encouraging Kurt to look at him. "I made a decision. The right one and the _only _one in my mind and I don't regret it. There's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. Okay?" Blaine ducked his head to meet Kurts eyes. Kurt always instantly felt more at ease as soon as his blue eyes met the warm hazel eyes of his boyfriend.

"Okay" he whispered. "Its just with everyone starting school and Davids going back, I just don't want you to have any regrets because your happiness is important to me and I just don't want this to be something that you could throw at me in an argument in ten years time or something."

"You - " Blaine leant forward to kiss his forehead. It was so gentle that Kurt could feel the goose bumps rise up to the surface of his skin. "- worry too much" As Blaine pulled away, Kurt could see he was smiling. "Honestly, you have _nothing _to worry about okay? No uncertainty here." Kurt returned the smile as he nodded. "Good" Blaine said as he acknowledged the nod. "Now can I be so cheeky as to steal a real kiss from you as I'm going to go now"

"I suppose" Kurt dramatically sighed as he pouted but soon enough, the pout was gone as Blaines hand reached behind Kurts head, his fingers gliding through Kurts hair as he pulled him forward into a kiss. They could both tell that neither of them wanted to pull away any time soon as they both deepened the kiss. A good minute or so passed by before Blaine decided to take the plunge and pull away first, leaning their foreheads together but he couldn't resist pressing one final chaste kiss to Kurts cherry plump lips, whispering against them the three words he would never get tired of telling him.

"I love you too" Kurt whispered back, not breaking the serenity of the moment. Blaine felt Kurts hand cup his cheek. He closed his eyes at the comforting sensation as Kurts thumb brushed along his cheekbone.

"Okay you need to stop otherwise I'll never leave" Blaine chuckled breathlessly.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing" Kurt remarked, his thumb still running along the softness of Blaines cheek. "No go. Go have fun."

Blaine smiled as he cupped both of Kurts cheeks in his hands, leaning up to press a kiss to his forehead. He purposely avoided Kurts lips because he knew if he went back to them, he really wouldn't be leaving the house any time soon.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon okay" Blaine said as he looked into Kurts eyes, his fingers toying with the hair on the back of Kurts head. Kurt smiled as he nodded. Blaine pushed himself off the bed before grabbing the overnight bag he had finished packing earlier on. He threaded his arm through the handles and headed out of the doorway, waving goodbye which Kurt returned.

It was 3 O'clock before Rachel and Finn walked through the door of the Hummel Hudson household. Finn had been at the terminal to greet his girlfriend as she walked back towards her old life. They had dropped off her luggage at her house and her dads were as equally ecstatic to see their daughter again as well as she was to see them. As Finn pushed the door to the Hummel Hudson house open, Rachel was quick to fly through and head straight for the stairs in search of her best friend.

_"It's as if she's never been away" _Finn thought to himself.

Compared to Rachel, Finn calmly ascended the stairs and as he reached Kurts doorway, the sight before him warmed his heart. He saw his girlfriend and brother, standing in the middle of the room, their bodies flushed together as they were tightly wrapped up in each others arms, swaying slightly side to side in an enthusiastic hug, Rachels arms swung around Kurts neck and his own wrapped securely around her tiny waist. The three of them spent some time together, gathered around the breakfast bar, catching up over cups of tea. Rachel asked about Kurts latest treatment session and in return, she told them stories of everything that had happened to her in the last two weeks, including the embarrassing moment which involved her tripping down the last few steps of the NYU campus staircase within one hour of arriving. However it wasn't all bad as by miraculous chance, the same girl, Chelsea, who had run over to her was actually set to live in the same dormitory block as her, two doors down to be exact. They talked and talked about various things but eventually, Rachel left Finn with a fleeting kiss to the cheek and she and Kurt retreated to his room. It was already nearing six o'clock and so the two of them passed the Chinese menu between them as if it a football, each circling the things they wanted before placing their order. They waited until the food arrived before settling in to watch their first film of the night, "An Affair To Remember". As they watched Cary Grants character, stand at the top of the Empire State Building, full of hope, waiting for the one he loved to arrive, Kurt felt prompted to ask the question that had been burning in his mind all day.

"So how - how is New York?"

"Its good" Rachel nodded as she swallowed the last bite of her Sweet and Sour Chicken Ball. Kurt could see the smile that grew on her face and he just knew it was better than 'good'. "It's amazing Kurt. It's - it's everything I ever dreamed of. I really do miss you guys though" Kurt smiled at her before dropping his gaze downwards.

"Do you wish you were there?" Rachel pondered.

"Sometimes I guess. I think it's just more the fact that everyone is moving on with their lives, moving away, going to school and I'm, well I'm a bit tied up at the moment" he softly chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood which had unexpectedly taken a solemn turn.

"You know you're going to get out of here too right?" Rachel grabbed both of his hands and held them tightly in her grasp. "This isn't forever. You're going to go on and do _amazing _things - the world won't know what hit them because _you _are a force to be reckoned with and you deserve everything good that happens to you, more than anyone I know."

"Do you ever think about when there was a time where we used to hate each other" Kurt joked, smiling broadly which made Rachel laugh.

"Well, I'm so happy that's not the case anymore" she said before the two best friends enveloped each other in a hug. Kurt whispered 'thank you' into Rachels ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

They took it in turns to pick the movies and so because it was Kurts choice to watch An Affair To Remember, Rachel decided that the next film would be 'The Breakfast Club'. It was nearing midnight and they were onto their third film of the night, 'Father Of The Bride', a film they both equally loved. The romance of Annie and Brian had them 'aww-ing' and crying and the comedy of George and Franc had them crying with laughter, the famous 'hot dog bun' scene particularly having them bowled over with laughter. Just like Brians dad, they were both reaching for the box of tissues Kurt had earlier on put between them as they watched Annie and Brian exchange their vows.

"You know" Rachel said through her sniffles, "that dress really reminds me of Kate Middleton's"

"It's the neckline and arms" Kurt said as he dabbed the tissue underneath his slightly red rimmed eyes. "Lace is such a timeless choice" he admired.

"Do you think you'll marry Blaine one day?" Kurts eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected question but not for long.

"I really do" he confessed. "I mean even when we were just friends, he was like no one I had ever met before and I knew he was special. He's been such an important, prominent part of my life since day one that I honestly cannot imagine a day where I don't see him or talk to him in some way, even if it is just a text 'hello'. He's everything I always dreamed of but never thought that I would get. He makes everything so much brighter with just a smile and with everything that's happened in the last few months, I just know now for certain that I don't need anybody else - he is the one for me." Kurt smiled at his words, biting his bottom lip as he thought back on them. "That sounded so cheesy didn't it?" He hadn't even realised Rachel had started to cry again until he looked up at her to find her snivelling into a tissue, her eyes wet as a few tears ran down her cheeks.

"No" she cooed. "It sounds like love. _True _love" she smiled. "Can I call dibs on being a Bridesmaid?"

"You and Mercedes are already on my list" he winked and the two laughed.

"I'm going to go get us some more drinks okay" Rachel said, patting the back of Kurts hand with her own as she got up off of the bed.

"And that involves going to see Finn for a few minutes" Kurt pre meditated. It wasn't even a question.

"Well I just had to sit and listen to you talk about your perfect, idealistic romance that you only read about in books - let me embrace in my own relationship for a while" she quipped from the doorway. "If I'm more than five minutes, I _swear _that I will hand over my right as the person to pick the next film to you" She slipped out of the doorway, leaving Kurt giggling on the bed. He picked up one of the take out boxes of Chicken Chow Mein, tucking into what was left of it before the message tone from his phone startled him.

**From Blaine:**  
><em>Hope you're having an amazing time with Rachel! I don't want to disturb you but I can never go a night without saying goodnight to you so here it is - Goodnight baby:) Sweet dreams and I can't wait to see you tomorrow afternoon :)(L)xx<em>

Kurt instantly typed out a reply, his face beaming with happiness as he sent it. He locked the phone and as he held it, he pressed it to his lips that were still upturned in a smile. He thought back on Rachel's earlier question and despite there being no one but him in the room, he found himself answering the question again.

"I really, really do" he whispered.

* * *

><p>The day had finally arrived. Saturday, September 15th 2012. They day that they all had spent nearly two months in preparation for was finally here. Both Finn and Blaine had received several texts over the last few days from all of their friends who had moved out of state over the Summer to let them know that they had arrived safely back in Ohio.<p>

Blaine slowly opened his eyes to find that it had just gone 10am. The bright rays of the morning sun shone through the bedroom window. He looked over to the side of him to see that Kurt was still fast asleep, his gentle breathing almost audible in the silence of the room. Ever since his diagnosis, Blaine personally loved when Kurt was asleep because when he was asleep, there was no pain, no bad news, no treatments, nothing that could ever truly hurt him - it was just a world of complete and utter peace and dreams, even if it only was for a few hours. By habit, he checked his phone that was residing to the side of him on the bedside table. To his surprise, he found three new text messages waiting for him to read.

**From David:**  
><em>The day is finally here B - let's get this show on the road! We're going to make Kurt proud!<em>

**From Will Schuster:**  
><em>It's looking as though you guys are in for a full house tonight! Good luck (not that any of you need it!)<em>

**From Rachel:**  
><em>Tonight is going to be ah-mazing! Let's do it for Kurt xx<em>

As he read over them, Blaine found that he was smiling to himself. A simple idea that he had one night nearly two months ago after accidentally stumbling upon a conversation not meant for his ears was now about to become a reality and it was all in honour of the one he loved. He couldn't wait.

He put his phone back onto the bedside table and shuffled back down into the bed, parallel to Kurts sleeping form. Blaine admired how peaceful and at ease his boyfriend looked, a soft smile playing at his lips. He leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to Kurts cheek, the one that was completely fair game and not nuzzled deeply into the pillow. A soft groan escaped from Kurts lips and Blaine was urged to continue what he had started. He slowly started a trail of soft kisses, his lips slowly moving from the curve of his jaw all the way to Kurts ear.

"Kurt." Kurt hummed in acknowledgement, shuffling slightly in his position, eyes still tightly shut. "Wake up babe" Blaine whispered against his ear before his lips met the softness of Kurts cheek again. The beautiful blue eyes he so longed to see were finally visible as Kurt slowly squinted his eyes open.

"That's a nice way to wake up" he murmured, his voice still thick with sleep. Blaine settled back down onto his pillow to look into his boyfriends eyes.

"Good morning" he smiled.

"Good morning to you too" Kurt replied before leaning forward to press a soft kiss to Blaines lips, cradling his cheek in his hand.

"What are you doing tonight?" Blaine asked against Kurts lips as he pulled away. Kurt pouted his lips into an 'o' shape.

"Oh well I'm sorry Mr Anderson but I'm pretty sure my schedule is jam packed tonight." Blaines eyebrows furrowed for a second but then Kurt continued. "It involves a lot of eating, watching Saturday night TV whilst cuddling with you and anything else we can think of to pass the time by doing. My days packed to the brim. It's very exhausting" Kurt teased.

"You're hilarious. Let me take you out tonight. Please?"

"What, like on a date?" Kurt inquired, his voice slightly buzzing with excitement.

"I guess you could say that" Blaine pondered. "So will you - will you let me take you out tonight?" Kurt couldn't help but shine him his brightest smile

"Of course I will you idiot - as if I would ever say no. That sounds perfect." Kurt grabbed Blaines hand from where it rested underneath the pillow, bringing it to his lips before intertwining their fingers, resting their now entwined hands in between them. "Am I allowed to ask where you're taking me?" Kurt cooed hopefully but Blaine was firmly shaking his head against the pillow, a smile playing at his lips. "Didn't think so" Kurt whispered playfully.

"It'll be worth it. I promise"

* * *

><p>The day passed by like normal. Kurt didn't even question when Finn left the house just after 3pm. He knew all to well that Rachel was still down from New York so he assumed that that was where his brother was off to, however Blaine knew that he was on his way to the school where in approximately an hours time, both groups had plans to rehearse their songs on stage one final time as a group before curtains up. Because Blaine was performing by himself, they all felt that as long as he was comfortable with his songs, there was no real need for him to be there. Besides, all of them - including Blaine himself - agreed it was probably best if Blaine didn't go because that held the possibility of raising Kurts suspicions and they were going to every length possible to keep this a secret. Instead, Blaine spent the afternoon happily curled into the side of his unsuspecting boyfriend, Kurt's arm wrapped protectively over his shoulders as they watched a film together. Both of them watched intently but Kurt used Blaines engrossment into the film as an opportunity to try and extract some form of information from him.<p>

"You know, if I knew where we were going tonight, I wouldn't be having so much trouble figuring out what to wear" Kurt dramatically sighed but Blaine wasn't budging.

"I know what you're trying to do - I know you too well Kurt Hummel and I'm still not telling you" Blaine replied, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Worth a shot" Kurt murmured. Blaine kissed his side before turning his attention back to the film. He knew Kurt could be impatient at times but he knew it would all be worth it in the end.

With both Burt and Carole still at work, Blaine took the opportunity of the empty house to create a special, romantic dinner for him and Kurt. He'd had it planned for days - Spinach and Ricotta stuffed Chicken breasts with creamy, gruyere potatoes and roasted vegetables, finished off with mini chocolate and vanilla layered cheesecakes. Blaine had already placed the iPod in the docking station, his and Kurts playlist softly playing in the background. He placed a vase containing a single red rose in the middle of the table, two, vanilla scented tea candles either side of the vase. Although it wasn't quite dark outside yet as it was just before six, the candles weren't exactly necessary but Blaine was determined to go all out tonight and every night he was ever able to because Kurt deserved romance. In Blaines eyes, Kurt deserved everything.

"So I can cross off the possibility of our date involving dinner off the list" Kurt quipped as he sat down at the head of the table in the chair Blaine had courteously pulled out for his boyfriend. Blaine softly laughed as he walked from behind Kurt to take the seat next to him.

"I'll give you that one" he played along.

"I'm still trying to guess you know" Kurt smiled.

"Well have fun with that honey. Cheers?" Blaine tipped his wine glass in Kurts direction.

"To us" Kurt clinked his own glass against Blaines. They both took a sip before setting the glasses down. To his surprise, Kurt grabbed Blaines hand before he could even pick up his cutlery.

"I love you. This is - this is perfect. Thank you" Kurt said softly. Blaine couldn't help but lean over to briefly connect his lips with Kurts.

"I love you" he replied as he settled back into his chair.

They ate perfectly happily in a comfortable silence. They spoke when they wanted to - it was never forced conversation but mostly throughout dinner, they just smiled. As Blaine loaded the dishwasher whilst Kurt cleared the table, insisting it was the least he could do after the meal Blaine had cooked for them both, Burt and Carole both walked through the front door. They walked into the kitchen to make the quick pleasantries of 'hello's and 'how were your days'.

"Well as much as we would love to stay and chat boys, we both need to go get ready" Carole proclaimed.

"Oh where are you going?" Kurt excitedly asked.

"Just - just out for the night" Burt casually remarked. He could see Blaine behind Kurt, pursing his lips together and dipping his head to hide his smile.

"That's so funny, Blaines taking me out tonight too!" Kurt proclaimed excitedly as he moved to stand to the side of his boyfriend, nudging his shoulder against Blaines. "He won't tell me where though of course - hey, maybe we'll see you out!" he joked to which they all laughed because oh how true that was going to be.

"Oh well, you never know" Burt said before turning on his heels and going upstairs, Carole following shortly behind. When they came downstairs later on, Burt dressed in his finest pair of tailored black trousers, complete with a matching black suit jacket and a light blue shirt underneath and Carole dressed exquisitely in a sophisticated, dark red dress that wrapped perfectly around her waist, showing her curves beautifully.

"You both look dressed to the nines" Kurt clapped his hands together in excitement. "I'm going to go get ready myself but have fun tonight" Kurt squealed as he ran up the stairs.

"Great acting skills guys" Blaine congratulated when he was sure Kurt was out of earshot to which Burt and Carole both laughed.

"Still alright to get to the school yeah?" Burt checked

"Yeah of course!" Blaine said. "Its twenty past 7 now and the fundraiser isn't until 8 so as long as we leave the house by quarter to, we'll be fine."

"Okay well drive safely and we'll see you soon bud." Burt clapped him on the shoulder, a simple but meaningful gesture of his pride before walking towards the door, picking up his car keys on the side table beside it.

"We're so proud of you" Carole said as she cupped his cheek. She kissed his other cheek before joining her husband and shutting the door behind them. Blaine walked up the stairs to start getting ready with the clothes he had planned out in his head hours ago. As he walked into the bedroom, his jaw slightly fell as he found Kurt, fiddling with his cardigan as he stood in front of their full length mirror. He was wearing a crisp white shirt with a zip down the middle that substituted the standard fastening device of buttons, a v neck black cardigan that followed the same pattern of consisting of a zip and a pair of light grey skinny jeans that hugged in all the right places. He was beautiful. Kurt hadn't even noticed that Blaine was in the room until he felt a familiar warmth behind him, Blaines arms circling around his waist as his chin dipped onto his shoulder.

"You look amazing" Blaine said into his ear, looking at his and Kurts reflections in the mirror.

"It's not too overdressed or _underdressed _or anything?" Kurt pursed. Blaine lifted his head from Kurts shoulders to kiss the back of his neck, hoping to calm his insecurities.

"Perfect" he simply replied. As Kurt walked to the bathroom mirror, styling his hair to his standard of perfection, Blaine quickly got changed into his outfit of choice. He too wore a white shirt, however his had eye catching black buttons down the middle and one on either collar, the dense colour popping off of the blank surface, a dark green cardigan that Kurt had always told him that he loved, claiming that it highlighted all of Blaines best features, especially his eyes and he finished the outfit with a pair of black jeans.

"Well don't you look handsome" Kurt said as he walked out of the bathroom.

"Well your seal of approval is the most important to me. Do I look okay then?" he smiled nervously.

"Perfect" Kurt replied, mirroring Blaines own answer from earlier. "Shall we go?" Kurt said as he held out his hand for Blaine. Their fingers entwined and they walked down the stairs, hand in hand. Kurt was about to reach for the door handle before Blaine stopped him.

"I just have..." he trailed off before producing a scarf that he had hidden in his back pocket.

"Really? You want me to wear a blindfold?" Kurt asked, completely amused.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise" Blaine shrugged. Kurt broke out into a wide grin before walking closer to his boyfriend, turning his back on him so that he could put it on.

"The things I do for you" Kurt joked as his vision was suddenly completely blinded. "You're not going to let me bump into anything of fall into any cracks or ditches in the road will you?"

"Never" Blaine said as he placed his hands on Kurts shoulders, guiding him out of the front door and towards the night that had been planned especially for him.

* * *

><p>They drove the short journey to McKinley, talking about every and anything. Their usual agreement of whoever is the passenger has control of the iPod went out the window seeing as Kurt, being the blindfolded passenger tonight, couldn't see a single thing and so they both happily settled for having the radio on quietly in the background but they weren't really listening to it anyway. Blaine pulled into the car park of his boyfriends old high school, Kurt squealing with anticipation next to him because although he couldn't see where they were exactly, the fact that the car had slowed to a stop, the sound of the handbrake crunching as Blaine pulled it upwards and the sound of the ignition being switched off was enough to let him know that they had arrived at their destination. Blaine jogged round to the other side of the car to help Kurt out of the car. He guided them towards the school entrance, having to warn Kurt of the occasional step up or downwards. From what Kurt could tell, they had been walking for at least two minutes before Blaine stopped them and took off the blindfold. Kurt blinked his eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the sudden exposure of brightness.<p>

"Blaine why - why are we back at McKinley?" Kurt asked, completely confused to the situation as he looked around his old, school hallway. "How are we even allowed here - isn't it shut? OH MY GOD we didn't break in did we?" Kurt rambled and Blaine couldn't help but laugh. Kurt playfully swatted his arm before holding his hand out to the side of him, almost gesturing to the mustard yellow lockers beside him as he silently asked Blaine to explain to him what exactly was going on right now.

"Do you trust me?" Blaine offered. Kurt narrowed his eyes because surely Blaine knew that Kurt trusted Blaine more than anyone in his life.

"Of course I do" he simply answered. Blaine held out his hand for Kurt to take.

"Come with me then?" Blaine smiled hopefully and his hand felt instantly warmer as Kurt slipped his own hand into his. As Blaine began to guide them towards the Auditorium doors that Finn had given him directions to earlier on, he could've sworn that he heard Kurt whisper something along the lines of 'anywhere' under his breath, making Blaines heart flutter. They turned several corners before they reached two, tall, black, double doors.

"The auditorium" Kurt whispered, his fingers till tightly entwined with Blaines. "What is-" he started, looking at Blaine completely bewildered. Blaine smiled before pushing the doors open and Kurt jumped slightly as he was completely caught off guard as to the rapturous applause that echoed around the room as they walked in. As from what Kurt could quickly make out, the room was filled with people he knew, friends, several family members, some he hadn't even seen for a while and there was no denying that all eyes were on him and Blaine right then.

"There you two knuckleheads are!" Kurt whipped his head around to find his father and Carole standing centre stage, a microphone stand between them and directly above them, he could see a projection that read in large, bold letters 'A Song For Kurt'. "Ladies and gentleman, the man you've all been waiting for - my son Kurt Hummel and of course, my _almost, _non official son in law - Blaine Anderson" Burts voice echoed around the room as everyone clapped and stood to their feet. Kurt was speechless. Overwhelmed.

"This is all for you" Blaine whispered into his ear and Kurt could start to feel the tears pooling at his eyes. Kurt turned his head to find that Blaine was already looking at him, his hazel eyes pooled with love and admiration that made Kurts insides flutter. He wanted to say and ask so many things: "I love you", "You did this for me?" "I love you right now more than I ever thought was possible" but instead he hoped that the glowing smile he gave Blaine was enough to convey those messages, for now at least. Blaine tugged gently at their intertwined fingers to guide them both to the two empty, reserved seats in the front row.

"I look around tonight and I _know _that I am speaking on behalf of Carole and myself when we say how utterly heart warming it is to see so many of you here tonight - it really speaks volumes and it shows how many people truly care about our son. And if you're in this room, then you'll know why we're all here tonight. There's no question about it - these last few months have been hard - extremely hard on us all as a family but Kurt, we are so, _so _proud with how well you have coped with this. You've faced this with nothing but strength, grace and pure determination and I said man earlier because that is what we have watched you become. Your mother would be so proud of you." Blaine felt Kurt squeeze his hand tighter as their entwined hands rested on the armrest between them. As Blaine slightly turned his head to look at Kurt through the corner of his eyes, he could tell that Kurt was desperately trying not to cry by the way he kept blinking his eyes shut quicker than usual. "Now Kurt, we all know that you are completely in the dark with everything that's going on right now -" Soft chuckles were heard throughout the room. "- so let me explain. Blaine here - " Burt started, gesturing his arm out towards Blaine "- and Finn came to me and Carole a few weeks ago telling us about this idea Blaine had. An idea for us but mainly and specifically for you. 'A Song For Kurt' is your own, personal fundraiser bud. All the money that is raised from tonight is all to help you but tonight's also a night _for _you, in honour of you and for the people you love to show how much they care about you in their own special way." Kurt was slowly shaking his head from side to side, as if he couldn't believe anything he was hearing right them.

"So honey" Carole said, looking directly to Kurt, "tonight is for you and we're going to stop taking up so much of your time and we're going to hand over the stage to Mr Will Schuster so we can get this show started." The audience applauded enthusiastically as Burt and Carole made their way off stage to take the two empty seats to the side of Kurt.

"So what do you think?" Blaine asked wearily as he leaned over towards Kurt.

"I think that I couldn't love you any more than I do right now" Kurt answered, his voice starting to quiver. "I can't believe you did this for me" he whispered. Blaine smiled broadly at him. "I love you. So much." Kurt had a feeling he would be saying that a lot tonight but he didn't care.

"I love you too" Blaine smiled. They were abruptly pulled out of their moment as they looked up to find Mr Schuster standing on stage. Good natured cat calls and wolf whistles could be heard amongst the applause but they all soon trailed off.

"Good evening" he begun. "Now I don't want to echo what Burt just said but we all know why we're here tonight. We're here for an extremely good reason. There are no words to describe how I felt when I heard about what had happened to Kurt. Shocked, angry, devastated - they don't even begin to cover it and this shouldn't have happened to you Kurt, but if there's one thing I learnt about you in the 3 years I truly got to know you, it is that you are the strongest person I know and I know you can beat this, and you _will. _Now, although we are missing one, extremely crucial member -" Mr Schu winked in Kurts direction "- I couldn't be more happier to be the one to kick things off tonight by introducing the reunited New Directions of 2012!"

Kurt watched in awe as all of his friends shuffled onto the stage, waving at Kurt as they walked to their rehearsed positions. Kurt ran through all the members in his head and thought about where a lot of them had come back from for tonight. They had come back for him. Finn took to the centre of the stage.

"Er Hi everybody" he started, clearing his throat. "Well what can I say that my mom, Burt and Mr Schu haven't already said. But as we all know, we're all here tonight for my brother, Kurt and so Kurt, this song is for you. We love you and we just hope you already know that each and every one of us, no matter where we are, we are always here for you." Kurt smiled fondly up at his brother on stage. The two of them rarely shared personal, brotherly moments but when they did, it was a beautiful thing to witness. it was as if despite everything that the two of them had gone through in their Sophomore year, in some way, they were destined to be brothers.

As his friends hummed the introduction notes, he instantly recognised them as hums he had once hummed with the group before, back in his Sophomore year. There was no question that the song was 'Lean On Me' - the song they had all sung to Finn and Quinn during Quinns pregnancy, as their way of letting them both know they were all there for them in their time of need. And now they were sending the same message to Kurt. A single spotlight shone down on Artie as he sung the opening lines, another focusing on Mercedes as she joined in and eventually, the whole group was brought out of the blackout and became visible as each of their voices combined to become one.

The crowd were on their feet in an instant as their pitch perfect vocals slowly faded out. Kurt especially was clapping harder then he probably ever had before, stopping occasionally to wipe the tears away from his cheek. They took their bows and everyone except Finn walked off of the stage, waving to Kurt as they did with proud smiles across their face, some of the girls even blowing kisses in his direction.

"I'm honoured to be introducing the next set of performers" Finn started. "Now that they're not our competition anymore, I can happily express that they are an exceptional group and one that's especially close to both Kurt and Blaine's hearts as well as being great friend of ours. Ladies' and gentleman The Warblers!"

Each and every member of the Warblers upheld their reputation of being a polished, classy group as they all walked out onto the stage, perfectly in sync with the other members, dressed in their instantly recognisable navy blue red trimmed blazers with the red embroided 'D' on their breast pockets, perfectly displaying their unity as a team. Finn clapped David on the shoulder as both he and Wes moved to take Finn's place at the microphone stand.

"Thanks for that Finn. Good evening ladies and gentlemen" David said through the microphone. "We're _so _happy to be here tonight for an extremely special friend of ours, Kurt Hummel. Now, we all met Kurt when he transferred to Dalton, although myself, Wes here and Blaine all met Kurt when he was actually trying to, not so inconspicuously, dig up dirt on the competition - don't think we'll ever let you forget that Kurt!" David joked and there wasn't one single person in the room that wasn't laughing. Even The Warblers, standing in their perfectly aligned formations were giggling.

"You know, we have to give you props for the recreation of a Dalton uniform but you just weren't quite convincing enough for us Preppies" Wes joked.

"I tried!" Kurt playfully defended as he shouted back, laughing to himself as the whole room laughed with him too.

"And a valiant effort good sir" David quipped. "But in all seriousness, Kurt only transferred to Dalton for a few short months but he certainly made an impact, not just on us as a team, but as individuals too. He taught us a lot of things. He certainly made an impact on our Blaine here too" David winked "But really, we have a lot to thank you for Kurt because when you first arrived, it was the first time any of us had seen Blaine truly smile." A lot of 'aww's' could be heard from the women of the audience. Both Kurt and Blaine turned to look at each other, smiles plastered across their faces as their gazes showed nothing but complete and utter love for the other.

"Like David already said, you were only with us for a few months but in that time, we all grew to love you like we had known you for years, we grew to love you like a brother and we all still and always will value your friendship" Wes smiled. "So Kurt, from us to you."

Kurt smiled fondly as each and every single one of them began to click their fingers of their right hand, shimmying their shoulders slightly forward as they did. Of course with it being The Warblers and a minimal amount of instruments being used, Kurt didn't recognise the song instantly but then David sung the first line of the lyrics.

_"If you need me call me, no matter where you are, no matter how far"_

He in took a sharp breath as he realised the song was none other than 'Aint No Mountain High Enough', a Motown song Kurt considered one of the best and he had spent many of his younger days enthusiastically singing along and recreating the Sister Act 2 end credits. He recalled a specific time where Burt hadn't been too amused to walk into their front room to find a young, guilty looking Kurt staring up at the ceiling as his jacket he had tossed into the air never managed to make its way back down, hooking itself onto the end of one of the panels of the ceiling fan. As Blaine looked over at Kurt, he could see that he was smiling brightly and he was confident that his friends had picked a perfect song. He thought back to when Wes and David had informed him of their choice of song.

_"We wanted Kurt to know that no matter where we are or what we're doing in our lives, we will always be there to help him. And besides, you know the lyric "Remember the day I set you free, I told you you could always count on me"? Well we thought that mirrored how we all felt when he left Dalton - that even though he left and was gone, he could still count on us for anything. And he still can."_

Their motto of "Once a Warbler, Always a Warbler" had never been truer in Blaines eyes.

Rightly so, a standing ovation was given to them as their perfectly harmonised vocals gradually faded out. Kurt especially applauded with such enthusiasm. Having been a member of the New Directions for three of his four high school years, he wasn't surprised that they performed but he was a little taken aback by The Warblers performing. He only spent a few months with them, 2 competitions he participated in with them but he would always look back on his time at Dalton with nothing but happy memories. After all, it was the place that not only brought him to the love of his life, but introduced him to another set of friends and he felt overwhelmed that they cared about him so much to do this for him. As if he didn't already know it, all Kurt could think about was how he truly does have an incredible circle of friends around him.

"Who's next?" Kurt asked Blaine excitedly as Mr Schuster walked back onto the stage but Blaine kept schtum, nodding to the stage as he smiled coyly.

"Now there's a little change in the set list tonight that's not in your programmes. You see, two days ago, my new Glee Club members approached me about tonight and each of them showed such enthusiasm and for their own reasons, they all really wanted to be a part of it. So without further ado, I welcome onto the stage, The current members of the New Directions!"

Kurt gasped, covering his mouth with his fingertips as seven young looking students proudly walked out onto the stage, one of the boys holding an acoustic guitar in his hand. A girl, dressed in a short black skirt with a contrasting white trim, a white shirt paired with a red cardigan stepped up to the microphone whilst her fellow team mates stood in a line behind her. With her short, dark brown hair, Kurt mused to himself that this girl could quite possibly fit the role of the new Rachel Berry within their group. As much as he adored his best friend, he hoped for the sanity of her fellow members that her personality wasn't quite as overpowering and that solo's were something that she was happy to share without competitions being made because of them.

"Hi everyone" the girl meekly said into the microphone. "Hi Kurt. You probably don't know me but a lot of us know you. My names Sarah and behind me, I have Mark, Sadie, Noah, Hibba, Cameron and Lily" she said as she gestured down the line, all of them smiling brightly at Kurt. "I'm personally a sophomore so I was a freshmen when you were here but we are all a mixture of freshmen and sophomores, all hoping to live up to the legacy that you guys left behind of being the national champions of 2012. Anyway, we all heard about what you were going through and when we asked Mr Schu more about it - more about you, he told us what your boyfriend, brother and friends were doing for you tonight and we hope you don't mind but, we all _really _wanted to be a part of it. I was actually in the audience when you made your speech for Senior Class President last year and I just remember being completely in awe at your strength. I can only hope that one day, I might be as strong as you. And when we spoke to Mr Schu about you more, we found out that not only are you a strong person but you really did change things around here - you showed so many students that it's okay to be yourself and to stand up for what you believe in, that high school is only the beginning of our lives and so no matter how many slushies get thrown at us or how many times we're shoved into a locker jut because we're in glee club, this isn't the end of our lives and that they're only just beginning."

Blaine whipped a tissue out from his pocket as he heard Kurt sniffling next to him. Blaine found himself wiping a tear away from his own eye at the heart warming speech. When Kurt turned to say thank you, he smiled sheepishly as he held out the same tissue to Blaine that he'd been offered moments before.

"I know I'm speaking on behalf of all of us when I say that you really don't deserve all of this but without even knowing you personally, I knew you were a strong person and you're strong enough to get through this." Sarah smiled softly as she stared intently at Kurt, as if she needed him to believe the words she was saying. "So, we're still a small group at the moment - you know as well as we do how hard recruiting new members is but we're slowly getting there but we really wanted to do this for you and we hope this song brings a little brightness to your life right now."

Sarah stepped back from the microphone to join her friends. They all gathered around the boy with the guitar, whose name Kurt now knew was Cameron as he started to gently strum his fingers along the strings of his guitar. Kurt was practically squealing in his seat as he instantly recognised the intricate guitar notes Cameron was playing were in fact the opening notes to 'Here Comes The Sun' by The Beatles, another song Kurt truly loved and by a group he held dear to his heart. In a way, it was The Beatles that helped him and Blaine get together. Kurt thinks about how Blaine is often telling him that he is certain he would have realised his feelings for Kurt at some point, even if Kurt had never sung Blackbird in honour of Pavarotti but in the end, Blackbird is what helped to push Blaine in that direction and so Kurt would always be thankful towards The Beatles.

They weren't standing in a perfect line nor did they perform a set of strict choreography but Kurts heart warmed at their formation. It reminded him of the few times when the new Directions would just sit around in the Choir Room whilst they waited for Mr Schu to arrive to start their lesson, simply enjoying each others company as they sung for fun. Not for rehearsals, not for assemblies but just because it's what they loved to do. They performed a beautiful, stripped back, acoustic version of the song and even had the audience clapping along with them as they replicated the distinctive clapping around the _"Sun sun sun here it comes" _verse. With that performance, Kurt knew that they would be just fine and would succeed. They proudly took their bows to a rapturous applause, Kurt screaming loud enough for everyone else sitting in his row. Kurt mouthed a "thank you" to Sarah as she smiled broadly at both him and the crowd, as if she was in shock as to the reception they were receiving. They all skipped happily off the stage, patting each other on the back and hugging each other from behind as they did. Mercedes and Rachel passed them as they walked onto the stage, grinning broadly at them.

"Well Mr Schu, I think you're going to have no problems getting to Nationals this year because those guys are ah-mazing!" Rachel squealed as her and Mercedes stepped up to the microphone. "And there's only seven of them so far! Moving on, Hi everybody. We hope you're all enjoying the show tonight! Just to introduce ourselves to those of you who don't know us personally, I'm Rachel Berry and this is the fabulous Mercedes Jones and tonight, we're going to collaborate to sing a duet for our best friend, Kurt Hummel."

Mercedes grabbed the microphone stand and tilted the microphone closer towards her. "You got two divas on stage Kurt - are you sure you can handle that?" she joked which had Kurt and the whole audience laughing.

"But you have two divas on stage who love you more than words can say" Rachel expressed sincerely.

The music began to softly play and Mercedes and Rachel both reached for the others hand. They were both smiling softly at each other, as if they were having a silent conversation with each other of _"We're going to do this - we're going to do this for Kurt." _

_"And I never thought I'd feel this way, And as far as I'm __concerned__, I'm glad I got the chance to say, That I do believe I love you"_ Mercedes started to sing.

" 'That's What Friends Are For' "Carole gasped. "Oh honey, what a beautiful song for them to pick for you" she whispered to Kurt as she leaned over her husband to do so. Kurt smiled and nodded at her. He squeezed her hand in acknowledgement before they both settled back into their seats.

_"Well you came in loving me, and now __there's__ so much more I see, and so by the way I thank you"_Rachel sung, never once breaking eye contact with Kurt. She was adamant about singing those particular lines because although her and Kurt had shared their differences in the past, that had all started to change for the better in their Junior year. Kurt had shown Rachel a lot of things in the last two years, inspired her and challenged her - she had even wrote in a heartfelt message in his yearbook that because of Kurt, Rachel would never apologise for who she was and so for that, she would always be thankful to Kurt.

Kurt was already fully aware of the power and beauty of both Rachel and Mercedes voices but this song really did beautifully show them off. Their harmonies were faultless and they found an impeccable balance between belting out the big power notes to singing some lyrics more softly and sincerely. It was perfect.

"I'll be back soon" Blaine leaned over and whispered to Kurt, patting their entwined hands as he started to move forward in his chair.

"Wait what, where are you going?" Kurt questioned.

"I need to go to the bathroom" Blaine lied.

"Okay" Kurt laughed as he shook his head, slipping his fingers away from Blaines for the first time since they had arrived. "Hurry back though, there's still one more performance on the Programme and it says 'Special Performer'."

"Trust me, I wouldn't miss it" Blaine winked. Kurt watched as Blaine walked up the aisle before turning his head back towards the stage where his two best friends vocals were starting to soften, coming down from the powerhouse notes they had been effortlessly belted out in the last chorus, coming together beautifully as the song came to a finish. The audience went wild, standing on their feet in an instant, Mercedes and Rachel earning themselves a deafening applause. They couldn't stop smiling as they took their bows, hand in hand. As they rose their heads, the crowd still applauding their flawless performance, they both excitedly ran to the end of the stage and fell to their knees, calling Kurt over before wrapping him in one of tightest hugs they ever had. As he pulled away, Kurt mouthed "I love you" to both of them, squeezing both of their hands before returning to his seat as they simultaneously returned to the microphone stand.

"Okay and now for our last guest of the evening." Mercedes started.

"Last but certainly not least" Rachel countered.

Kurt started to wonder as to why Blaine wasn't back from the bathroom yet as he looked to the empty chair to the side of him. He just had to hope he would be back in time to see the end of the show.

"Now we are completely ecstatic to be introducing our last performer of the evening. He is someone extremely special, not only to us and to a lot of the performers tonight, but also to Kurt. Especially to Kurt. He has played the most crucial role in tonight - without him and his _genius _idea, 'A Song For Kurt' might not have ever happened." Kurts jaw slightly dropped as the cogs started to turn in his head. Remembering what his father had said to him upon his arrival, he now had a strong instinct as to who the 'Special Performer' was. "So ladies and gentleman, without further ado, please welcome our last performer of the evening, Blaine Anderson" Mercedes announced. The audience cheered loudly and enthusiastically, the loudest of cheers coming from both The Warblers, the old New Directions and even Burt. Kurt however, was sat completely frozen. All he could focus on was his beautiful boyfriend walking across the stage, smiling directly down at him.

"Good evening everyone. I'm Blaine Anderson and I'm sure by now we all know why we're here tonight. If you don't, you probably shouldn't still be here" Blaine joked which made the audience chuckle. "We're here for someone who is extremely special to me; the person who I hold closest to my heart and the person I cannot imagine not spending a single day by his side. Kurt - " Blaine softly said. " - We're here for you. I hope tonight that not only have you enjoyed yourself but I really hope you've seen how many people care about you and how special you are to so many of us. You changed a lot of peoples lives. You changed _my _life. You changed it in a way I never imagined someone could and because of you, my days were so much brighter - because of you, I have a reason to wake up in the mornings. I know how hard these last few months have been for you but everyone who loves you is right here for you. I'm here for you and we're going to get through this together. I'm going to be right by your side through _everything _and I don't ever intend on leaving."

Kurt shut his eyes as the tears flowed freely down his cheek. He couldn't stop. When Carole leaned over to hand him a tissue, he smiled in compassion as he saw that she too was in tears at Blaines words. He knew that he and Carole weren't alone as he heard Rachel, Mercedes, Tina and Quinn all crying behind him. He didn't even know about past their line but if he had looked, he would have seen several of the female audience members dabbing delicately at their eyes, desperate to not ruin their makeup. To Kurts surprise, David suddenly walked out onto the stage, sheet music held tightly in his grasp as he took a seat at the Piano that had been on stage all evening and now Kurt knew why.

_"I know you want to stay in bed, but it's light outside"_

Blaine was so happy when he found this song, scrolling through his iPod one day in search of his two songs for tonight. He really thought it said a lot of what he wanted to say. He knew the opening line was perfect because he thought it was fitting for the days when Kurt is recovering from his treatment sessions. Kurt's had three of them now and Blaine knows exactly how he feels - tired, weak, dejected and besides it being on Stephs strict orders, sometimes he just doesn't want to get out of bed. But as the song said, 'it's light outside' - there's light on the other side - there's always a better day ahead of the bad ones: they just had to get through the bad stuff first before they could reach that other side. Although he already knew that Kurt knew this, especially as he'd expressed it right before this song as well as countless times before, Blaine loved that the song reinforced the fact that Blaine was going to stay right by his side_ "because you saved my life once" _because Kurt truly had and Blaine honestly couldn't imagine how his life would have turned out if Kurt wasn't by his side.

_"I think I always knew you would be, I think I always knew you would be the greatest, the greatest"_

Blaine would be the first to admit that yes, it had taken him a long time to realise his feelings for Kurt but he never once denied that there was just something different about Kurt, something that drew Blaine to him more than he'd ever been drawn to anyone else. Even when they were just friends, Blaine wanted to spend every single waking moment with Kurt, even if it was just doing something so trivial. From the first moment they sat down for Coffee and Kurt revealed everything he had been living with for the last however long, Blaine was completely in awe at his strength. Blaine always knew that Kurt was great and now he truly did believe that he was the greatest. Kurt was the greatest thing to ever happen to Blaine.

The song drew to a finish and Blaine was greeted with a rapturous applause. Kurt was out of his seat before anyone else, clapping with everything he had, a fresh set of tears running down his already tear stained cheeks. Everytime Kurt thought it wasn't possible to love his boyfriend anymore than he already did, Blaine completely surpassed all of what he thought.

"Now I'm being selfish and singing another song for my boyfriend tonight" Blaine joked with the audience as several band members, equipped with every and any instrument walked out onto the stage, standing near David and the Piano. For the final time that evening, the opening notes were played and by the simple notes David was playing on the piano, Kurt took a sharp intake of breath as he instantly knew what song it was. The love Kurt felt for Blaine in that moment was written so clearly across his face as Blaine beautifully crooned his way through "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". He turned to look at his dad and Carole who just smiled proudly back at him, like they were silently conveying to him how happy they were that he and Blaine had found each other.

As Blaine sung the line _"The first time ever I lay with you, __I__ felt your heart so close to mine, And I knew our joy would fill the earth, And last till the end of time my love"_ Kurt thought back to their first time together. The night they gave each other everything, shared everything and truly became _each others_everything. Kurt knew from that moment that there was no one he ever wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He wanted Blaine to be the last person he said goodnight to and the first person he said good morning to. All the dreams they had talked about before like moving into their first apartment and adopting their first dog, Kurt wanted nothing more than to make those dreams a reality with Blaine. Kurt wanted to spend the rest of his life _loving _Blaine.

By the end of the song, not only was Kurt crying but nearly everyone else was shedding the occasional tear. The audience were instantly on their feet, applauding wildly as well as cat calls and whistles being made too. Blaine absorbed the reaction for a moment before turning his attentions to Kurt, who he found was smiling straight back at him. In that moment, it was as if either of them were the only people that existed. Blaine walked down to the end of the stage, jumping down from it onto his feet to meet Kurt in a tight embrace. Blaine could've sworn the applause suddenly got louder as he and Kurt wrapped themselves around each other. Blaine rested his forehead on Kurts shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist as Kurt nuzzled himself into Blaines neck.

"I love you" Kurt mumbled into his skin. "More than anything"

"I love you forever" Blaine whispered into his ear.

They were forced to pull away as they Mr Schu walked onto the stage to deliver the closing speech. As they sat back down in their chairs, Kurt held his hand out on the armrest for Blaine to take, entwining their fingers as soon as he did.

"Ladies and gentleman, what a night!" Mr Schu exclaimed. "Can we just give another round of applause to all of our performers tonight. Thank you so much for all coming out tonight and we hope you've enjoyed the performances. The money you've all raised tonight is really going to help in so many ways. Ladies and gentlemen, please drive safely and have a good night. Thank you"

The audience slowly began to sift out, the auditorium becoming emptier and emptier by the second. Burt and Carole had also left, not before hugging both Kurt and Blaine and telling them that they would see them at home. Blaine wrapped his arm around Kurts shoulder as Kurt rested his head against Blaine, wrapping his own arm around Blaines waist. They stood in the aisles talking to Rachel, Finn, Mercedes, Santana, Sam, David, Wes and Thad.

"You were all so amazing tonight" Kurt gushed. "I just - I don't even know how to thank you all for what you done tonight. It - I cant even tell you how much it meant to me."

"Kick this thing square in the ass" Santana quipped and they all giggled. "Just beat this thing and I think we'll all be more than happy to call it even" she smiled. They eventually all shuffled out of the auditorium

"Oh wait, I forgot to pick up the scarf - you know, the one you blindfolded me with earlier" Kurt joked just as they reached the auditorium doors.

"It was worth it though right?"

"More than" Kurt whispered as he caught Blaines lips in a gentle kiss. "You go, I'll meet you outside" Kurt tapped his arm before walking back down the aisles. Blaine pushed the door open, walking out into the school corridors before stopping dead in his tracks at the people before him.

"Blaine" A woman softly said. Blaine felt a cascade of emotions as he was faced with the two people he thought he would quite likely never see again.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN - BAM CLIFFHANGER - gotta love the cliffhangers ;) so who do we think Blaines seen?**

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the fundraiser:) I honestly enjoyed writing it so much:) I hope you liked the song choices too! I swear they changed so many times! For ages, my idea was to have The OLD New Directions sing 'Thats What Friends Are For' and i literally only changed it to Mercedes and Rachel a couple of week ago, The idea of the NEW New Directions performing - I hummed and harred with that idea for so long and it was always one of my initial ideas to have someone outside Kurts group of friends perform for him so eventually i just decided to include it. **  
><strong>With Blaines songs, Ever since i had the idea to write this story (a year ago), I always had in my head that Blaine would sing 'This Years Love' by David Gray and then literally a few weeks ago, I was listening to my iPod and 'Light Outside' came on and I'd never even considered it but as I listened to the lyrics, I just thought it was so perfect for the situation that i had to include it and I had to keep 'The First Time..." because i have a serious idea for that song ;) <strong>

**Here is the full list of songs anyway just in case it wasn't clear in the chapter**

**The OLD New Directions: Lean On Me - Bill Withers**

**The Warblers - Aint No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terell**

**The NEW New Directions: Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles **  
><strong>(I had to include someone singing The Beatles somewhere because they're my favoruite group ever and this is one of my favourite songs by them :) )<strong>  
><strong>Mercedes and Rachel: That's What Friends Are For - Dionne Warwick<strong>

**Blaine: Light Outside - Wakey!Wakey! and 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' - Roberta Flack**  
><strong>(While we're on the subject, check out Matt Cardles version of The First Time from X Factor - it's beyond beautiful and its something I always listen to when I'm writing this) <strong>

**And PLEASE, if you've never heard This Years Love, although it didn't get used, you have to go to YouTube to listen to it - again it's a song i completely adore - It's been one of my favoruite songs for years and i always listen to it writing this. Its beyond beautiful and it literally makes me cry every. time. **

**Also just some side notes, if you want to see Caroles Dress, go to this link - take out the [ ]'s**  
><strong> webapp[]wcs/stores[/]servlet/prod_10001_10001_34519+87610613_-1?breadcrumb=Home~Women~Dresses**  
><strong>And Kurts outfit inspiration is from 'Heart' during the 'Let me love you' performance although i changed it from pink to black cause i prefer those colours:)<strong>

**Reviews**

**_iloverandyortonwwefan23_**  
><strong>Thank you so muchh:)<strong>

**_SpookedKitten_**  
><strong>Awwh thank you! Urgh I know that feeling - exam periods are the worst :| mine lasted like over a month :( <strong>  
><strong>Oh good! There's not much development with the pregnancy in this chapter but there will be in other ones and it's definitely going to play a role in the epilogue:)<strong>  
><strong>Oh god I hope your not too angry at how long you've had to wait for this chapter :(<strong>

**_nomorecandles_**  
><strong>Awwh wow that's awesome! Well you can definitely expect more from this :) despite my crappy updating skills, I'm nowhere near finished with this story yet :D<strong>  
><strong>Awwh I hope your sisters went well and I hope her results are good on Thursday - I'm already preparing myself for the worst :(<strong>

**_Jazz_**  
><strong>Awwh of course - its my pleasure! :) well I really hope you liked this chapter too!<strong>  
><strong>Thank you about my exams btw:) <strong>

**Now that I'm finished with college, I'm aiming for 3 week updates which is what I used to do and then everything just got so hectic so yes, that's my plan atm:)**  
><strong>Now I'm off to Scotland on Saturday and I have a plan to keep writing Chspter 13 while I'm there - I've got it all planned out INU head - writing this whilst overlooking mountains and the loch ness ;D <strong>  
><strong>Until next time my lovelys and you can have my word it will not be as long as it took me with this chapter:)(L)xx <strong> 


	14. Chapter 13

**Authors Note - Feel free to hit me - i want to hit myself. Im so sorry - again! Everythings been crazy recently :O You would think taking a gap year meant you would be able to relax a bit but lol no - that hasnt happened. So I know i said i was going to write when i was in Scotland but my plan didn't exactly happen as we spent more time travelling to places and in the car than we did in our house so i wrote some on my phone but yeah :/ And then I was already dealing with family stuff before I left which spewed even further when I got home and still ongoing now and blergh, I'm in the middle of doing my University application and then works just been insane because I'm literally working so much more than i normally do - my pay slip just under 2 weeks ago said that I'd worked 32 extra hours ontop of my normal 56 and thats partly my choice BECAUSE I HAVE NEWS! In early September, I had an interview and I got offered a place to do a placement in Costa Rica next year for 4 weeks teaching English! So I've been picking up a bit more overtime to help with payments and i've had to sort out flights, renewing my passport, insurance etc and im so excited but obviously working more just takes more time away from this and we've had a lot of people leave recently so i've had to cover a few shifts but i made a concious decision to not pick up anymore overtime last week so i could finish this chapter and I did:) **

**OH MY GOD, also incase you wanted to know, my exam results were B in English Language and C's in Psychology and Film Studies so I got the grades i needed so i was really pleased:) **

**So as always, thank you so, SO much to all of you who actually stay with me and alert, favourite and, my favourite - review this story:) You honestly do keep me going and i love you all for it and i love writing this for you guys as much as for myself:)**

**On a seperate note - SEASON 4! Are you guys loving it as much as I am:) And I hope you're all okay after The Break Up - I was in tears throughout that episode it wasn't even funny :L**

**So although this chapter kicked it out of me at some points and i had to take a lot of walks around my house before coming back to it, i love this chapter and if you're a fan of Blaine - this chapters full of him:) You'll get to find out the mystery guests and we have a flashback which gives an insight into some things:) **

**Okay go read, I'm going to stop rambling now:)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

_This isn't happening. Not now. This isn't happening. Not now. _

Blaine tightly closed his eyes as he thought over the same five words over and over to himself. This wasn't real. Any moment now he was going to wake up from this nightmare. Any moment now.

"Blaine" the woman called again. She was softly spoken and the name rolled off of her tongue so easily, as if she had been saying it for years. But that was because she had. Blaine opened his eyes again to find the man and woman still standing directly in front of him.

This was very much a reality.

They were both extremely smartly dressed; the man wore a three piece, impeccable crisp black suit, paired with a white shirt and a navy blue tie compared to the woman who was dressed in a dark green shift dress that wrapped in around her waist, highlighting her petite figure, pleating out below the waist and paired with a long sleeved black shrug. She had a black coat folded over her arms as well as a clutch bag in one of her hands. The mans dark brown hair that almost verged into being black with sparse specks of grey was well groomed and swept backwards whereas there was no denying the colour of the womans hair. Her long dark brown hair was parted perfectly down the middle and the barrel curls sculpted her face perfectly. Her make up was subtle but noticeable - it was reminiscent of old, classic Hollywood. And there was no mistaking their eyes. It could not be denied that they were a beautiful, dashing pair.

"What are you doing here?" Blaine repeated, still completely shell shocked.

"Blaine we wanted - " The woman said as she slightly stepped forward. "We heard that - "

Just as the woman started to speak, Kurt came bustling out of the auditorium, his head down and focus completely distracted as he wrapped the scarf around his neck. "Blaine, honey you didn't have to wait out here , I told you to go to - " Kurt started but as he looked up, he soon registered the picture that was in front of him. "Oh."

"Hello Kurt" the woman registered, offering an unsure, cautious smile in his direction.

"Mr and Mrs Anderson" Kurt acknowledged before turning all of his attention to Blaine who was still stood quietly next to him. Although he had never formally met them and Kurt had only ever seen Blaines parents in pictures, he knew exactly who they were. When he first met Blaine, they spent their days going out shopping, to the cinema or to the local theatre. Then when Kurt transferred to Dalton, they spent the large majority of their time there and the times whenever they were at Blaines house either at the weekends or during the school holidays, his parents were always out at work and by the time the two of them had got together, the opinions voiced from them that night had made it quite clear that Kurt was not going to meet his parents for a while, if not forever. Blaine had only ever mentioned his parents in passing and after everything, it was obvious he was uncomfortable talking about them and so Kurt didn't ask. Blaine turned to Kurt as he felt him clasp his elbow supportively.

"Are you okay?" Kurt whispered to which Blaine shrugged. He didn't answer. _Couldn't _answer. A cascade of emotions were running so powerfully through his veins at that precise moment that he couldn't really pinpoint exactly how he was feeling. Kurt completely understood Blaines reaction which is why he felt he should speak for him.

"Mr and Mrs Anderson, forgive me I don't mean to be rude but, can I ask what exactly you're doing here? I mean, we're both obviously extremely surprised to see you - I don't think either of us expected to see you for, well, a long time" Kurt said as politely as he could but really, he felt a slight pang of resentment towards them. Blaine felt hurt and anything that affected Blaine, affected Kurt too. He told them that either of them hadn't expected to see them for a long time but really, Kurt had resigned himself to the fact that he might never meet Mr and Mrs Anderson.

"Well, we heard about everything and we just wanted to - " Mrs Anderson started before she was swiftly halted by Blaine.

"Don't" he muttered, raising his head to make eye contact with his parents. "Kurt's strong - he doesn't need anybody's pity. And he _certainly _doesn't need it from you two."

"Blaine, please try to listen" his father said as he slightly stepped forward, the first words he had spoke during the whole exchange.

"Like you listened to me nearly two years ago?" he scoffed. "Because the words, "I don't want to hear this right now" are ringing great big flaming red fire alarms in my memory right now."

"Blaine, I know a lot of things were said that night, especially by me - I'm more than aware of the role I have played in all of this, but we're here, and we're still your parents" his dad attempted to reason.

"You sure haven't acted like my parents for a long time now, especially when you basically told me not to come back home as long as I was with Kurt, or 'that boy' as I know was your phrase of choice. You didn't want to listen then and I'm finding it extremely hard to believe that _now _you want to talk." Blaine felt himself getting more and more emotional as he felt the anger that that been dormant for many months now rile back up inside him. He was at that point of anger and hurt that it took all he had to hold the tears back. He wasn't going to give them that.

"Come on Kurt, lets go" he muttered, moving swiftly past his parents and towards the corridor doors. As Kurt caught up with him, clutching his hand in comfort as he walked by his side, he turned his head around to chance a glance at Blaines parents. Blaines mum had her head bowed downwards, one of her hands running lethargically over her forehead whilst Blaines dad stood close to his wife, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. He wasn't expecting to feel this way but Kurt almost felt sorry for them. Both Blaine and his dad had always told him his heart was too big and now was no exception. As he looked at Blaine, he saw that he didn't look as angry as he had acted minutes before, he now just looked hurt.

"Hey" Kurt whispered as he gently tugged on Blaines hand, bringing them to a stop in the middle of the hallway. "Can you just give me a few minutes?"

"Why? Are you okay?" Blaine asked but he realised what Kurt was getting at as he followed his boyfriends eye line, of which his parents were directly in. "Kurt are you _serious_?"

"You can wait in the car if you want" Kurt reasoned. "I just - I really feel that this is something I have to do. I just need to say _something _otherwise I know I'll regret not saying anything when I had the chance_. _I'll just be a few minutes, I promise."

"I'm not stopping you" Blaine said, his thumb stroking over Kurts knuckles as his gaze was cast downwards. "I just - I'm worried though because, you guys have never really spoken before and I don't want to leave you alone with them but I just - I don't think I can stay here"

"I completely understand" Kurt smiled. "And trust me, I'm not about to put you in any situation that you feel uncomfortable with. But I really do want to talk to them though."

"Okay" Blaine succumbed. "Are you going to be okay?

"I'll be fine" Kurt smiled as he leant upwards, gently pressing his lips to Blaines forehead. "I'll be out soon."

Blaine nodded. He offered Kurt a small smile as he squeezed his hand before walking away and out through the corridor doors, leading out to the car park. As Kurt walked purposefully back towards Blaines parents, they seemed surprised to see him walking back towards them.

"Why are you here?" Kurt softly said as he was suddenly within close proximities of his boyfriends parents. It wasn't said maliciously or harshly - It was just a genuine question.

"We really did come for you. For both of you really. We heard about everything and we wanted to offer our support. We were also hoping that Blaine would talk to us maybe" Blaines mum offered as she shrugged her shoulders defeatedly. "We heard about the fundraiser tonight and knew he would be here and so we just - "

"Mr and Mrs Anderson - " Kurt started before Blaines mother quickly intercepted.

"Please, Nathan and Isabelle. You can even call me Izzie" Isabelle nervously suggested.

"Maybe when the circumstances are different" Kurt said. "Back to my point - Nathan. Isabelle. You've had nearly _two years _to make things right with your son, and you pick today?" Kurt questioned.

"Maybe today wasn't the best time." Isabelle agreed. "And maybe we shouldn't have shown up here. But I knew that if either one of us called him or showed up at his doorstep, he wasn't likely to answer."

"He's angry and _hurt!_" Kurt exclaimed loudly. "Can you blame him?"

"No. We don't. At all." Isabelle said, shaking her head as she kept her head bowed. It was only when she looked up that Kurt really realised how Blaines eyes were so similar and beautiful to his mothers. "But he's our son."

"You know he doesn't talk about what happened that night" Kurt confessed. "I don't know anything that was said between the three of you that night. But what I do know, is that my new boyfriend and best friend was standing on my doorstep at eleven O'clock at night, in the pouring rain. I know that when I hugged him, he couldn't even _breathe _properly he was so hysterical, his body shaking so violently against my own. I know that it took me hours to calm him down and what I also know, is that I was the one who held him whilst he cried himself to sleep that night. Do you know how heartbreaking that was? And finally, I know he never went back home after that night." Kurt took a moment to compose himself before continuing. "Like I said, I don't know the ins and outs of what happened, but what I do know is that Blaine was hurting more than I'd ever seen him before and that hurt is obviously still within him." Kurt was almost positive that as he finished talking, he could see a glaze over Isabelle's emerald green eyes.

"A lot of things were said that night" Nathan stepped up. "A lot of angry, hurtful comments that maybe can't be taken back or easily forgotten. But Kurt, you have to believe us when we say that we want things to change. We're here and we just want to be given a chance." Kurt had always thought Blaines dad would be more stern and distant but right then, he seemed extremely sincere and hopeful.

"Kurt can you imagine not ever talking to your dad again? Or how your dad would feel if you made a conscious choice not to talk to him?" Kurt opened his mouth, wanting to say something but finding that words actually failed him. Isabelle had got him there. Although he couldn't ever imagine being in the same situation as Blaine was in with his parents, if there was one thing he was certain of and one thing he would always make sure of, is that his dad would always be a part of his life, no matter what. "I don't want an estranged son. I just want my son back."

Kurt looked away from the two of them as he thought about everything for a moment. He had done what he intended to do and he had listened. He had spoken to them, listened politely and considered everything from their point of view. He would always be on Blaines side about everything but it was clear to him now that maybe Blaines parents were not the bad people as he had once thought them to be. Families had arguments and disagreed on things - that wasn't a secret and maybe this went beyond that, but Kurt was a firm believer in second chances. If he could give David Karofsky a second chance, maybe there was some hope for Blaine and his parents. Blaines happiness was pivotal to Kurt and maybe he wouldn't want to, but if there was even a slight chance in his boyfriend fixing his broken relationship with his parents and having them back in his life, being there for all the milestones he was yet to reach, then Kurt wanted to take that chance. Blaine would always have a family with Kurt and the Hummel-Hudsons, but there was "family" and there was _family_.

"Do either of you have a bit of paper and a pen I could borrow please?" Kurt asked both of them after moments of silence.

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows but willingly reached into his inside jacket pocket, producing a mini diary and pen. When Kurt opened it, he found lists and lists of times and names. When they had first become friends and were getting to know each other more, Blaine had briefly mentioned in passing that his dad was a lawyer and now Kurt found it was no surprise that he and Nathan had never crossed paths the times he had been at Blaines house - his schedule was literally packed. Kurt scribbled something quickly down on a blank page before closing the book and handing it back to Nathan, a small smile playing at his lips. Blaines parents looked at what Kurt had written and proceeded to look back to him.

"I'm not promising anything - " Kurt stated " - But I'll talk to him."

"I - really?" Isabelle stuttered out. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, almost sounding relieved as Kurt nodded.

"But can you - will you promise me something?" Kurt started. Isabelle and Nathan both made gestures, silently encouraging him to continue. "I want to believe that you're willing to make this right and I really, _truly _do think you are but, _please, _if you're both serious about this, please be 100% committed to it - I don't want to see him hurt again.

"We promise. We want things to change too" Isabelle smiled. "We have done pretty much since the moment they went wrong but, rejection is not the easiest thing to handle when it comes from your own child - It kind of took us a while to build up the courage. Adults still get scared too.

"Okay" Kurt nodded. "I'm glad to hear it." He turned to walk away from them, leaving them both standing in the middle of the corridor.

"Kurt" Kurt turned on his heels as he noted Isabelle calling out for him.

"Blaine looks so happy when he's with you. Thank you for making him smile. And believe us when we say how truly sorry we both are for what you are going through now."

Kurt offered the pair of them a small smile of gratitude. He held up his hand in a small wave before heading towards the exit doors. He had said everything he wanted to say. Now all he could do was wait.

* * *

><p>As Blaine had drove to the concert, Kurt wasn't surprised to walk out into the car park to find Blaine sitting in the drivers seat, staring blankly at the steering wheel. He opened the car door and Blaine barely even registered the movement.<p>

"Come on" Kurt whispered as he massaged Blaines shoulder that was nearest to him. "You're not in the right frame of mind to drive home. Shuffle over."

Without saying a word, Blaine wilingly shuffled over to the passenger seat as Kurt climbed into the drivers seat. They drove home in complete and utter silence. They always, without fail, drove everywhere listening to some form of music however tonight, they didn't connect either one of their iPods nor did they even turn the radio on - Kurt felt that it wouldn't be appropriate right now. He knew that in that moment, Blaine just needed time, space and silence to mull over things. Kurt reached over to Blaines side, taking his hand in his, resting their entwined fingers in the console between them and never once letting go. It was Kurts way of telling Blaine that he was there for him and judging by the sad smile Blaine offered him before turning his attention back to look at the passing surroundings out of the window, Kurt knew he appreciated it.

"I'm sorry" Blaine softly said after over half the journey had been silent.

"What are you sorry for?" Kurt asked, puzzled as to what Blaine would be sorry for.

"I'm not exactly the best company right now huh" Blaine forcefully laughed, as if he was trying to lighten the mood. "Also because, I feel like tonight might have been ruined" he sorrowfully added.

"Please don't"

"Please don't what?" Blaine cautiously asked.

"Apologise" Kurt simply replied. "You have _nothing _to be sorry for." By chance, they pulled up to a red light and so Kurt took this opportunity to turn his full attention to Blaine. "And hey" Kurt cooed. "Tonight hasn't been ruined. Far from it. Because what you created for me tonight was nothing short of perfect and it was one of the most selfless, amazing things anyone has ever done for me, and I don't think I have ever loved you more and it's something that I will remember forever. Now you had a big night tonight and you know I'm not just talking about the concert. So we're just going to go home and we'll just, we'll take it from there" Kurt smiled, running the thumb of his free hand over Blaines knuckles. "But you have absolutely nothing to apologise for. We're a team. Anything that hurts you, hurts me too. We work through everything together - the good stuff and the bad, and this is no exception."

Blaine smiled sadly and gratefully at his boyfriend. As the lights turned green, Kurts signal to release the handbrake and pull away, he suddenly felt Blaines grasp of their entwined hands tighten. He glanced over to find Blaine staring back out of the window but Kurt smiled as he knew it was Blaines silent way of saying _"thank you" _and _"thank you for being here". _It was almost as if relief washed over Kurt as he pulled up onto the driveway of their house. Now he could finally get Blaine indoors where he hoped that they could talk about the events of the latter part of the evening and hopefully take baby steps forward.

As Blaine reached for the door handle, Kurt suddenly raised their entwined hands to his lips, gently pressing them to Blaines hand, which Blaine smiled at. They untangled themselves from each other to get out of their respective sides but as Blaine walked around the back of car and reached the drivers side, their hands instinctively seeking the warmth they had had seconds before. They walked through the threshold of the house and the familiar but indistinct sound of Burt and Carole chatting amongst themselves in the kitchen hit them. Their excitement and pride was obvious as their two boys walked into the kitchen, Carole sitting on one of the stools whilst Burt chose to lean up against the breakfast bar, both clutching steaming mugs of tea in their hands.

"You're home!" Carole exclaimed, sliding off of her stool to give each of them a hug and place motherly kisses to their cheek. As she pulled away from Blaine, she moved her hands from around his back to either of his cheeks.

"Honey tonight was amazing!" she whispered. "And your performance was just utterly _breathtaking_. I haven't cried that much since our wedding!" Carole joked as she gestured her hand back and forth between her and Burt.

"Thank you" Blaine whispered appreciatively, offering her a smile. Even though he didn't feel like smiling right now, he wasn't about to bring Carole and Burt down too. Not tonight.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful" she clarified once more, stroking her hand down his arm before sitting back down on the stool.

"She's right though" Burt said, pushing himself away from the side as he walked towards Kurt and Blaine. "You should be so proud of yourself kiddo. You really put on something special tonight" he said patting Blaines shoulder enthusiastically, the pride that was beaming from his face could have been seen from miles away. Kurt smiled as he watched the man who brought him up and admired more than he could ever put into words display nothing but pride and love to the man he was proud to call the love of his life.

"Thank you guys" Blaine croaked. Burt patted him on the shoulder before returning to his previous spot in the kitchen, bringing his mug of tea to his lips once again. Blaine cleared his throat, suddenly finding more strength in his voice than he felt in himself. "Really, thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me but, above all, I really hoped tonight helped you out too."

From the ticket sales to the program sales, refreshment sales and the collection boxes that had been going around during the night, it would take a while for them to calculate the exact total of the nights earnings. However, they had specifically made a conscious decision to not worry about the total tonight because the total didn't matter - the Hummel-Hudson family were just completely appreciative of peoples good natures and willingness to help them.

Carole tilted her head inquisitively as she noticed when Blaines gaze fell to the side, almost looking as sorrowful and dejected as he had been when he first found out about Kurts diagnosis. The shuffling of his feet didn't go unnoticed by her either, nor did the way Kurt slipped his hand discreetly into Blaines and dipped his head so that his own eyes could meet Blaines.

"You okay honey?" She finally asked. Blaines head shot towards her.

"Yeah, of course" he smiled. Carole had had enough practice over the years with Finn and even more recently with Kurt to know that that was a lie, that he was hiding something. "I'm actually really exhausted - big night and all - "he chuckled slightly " -So I'm just going to head on up to bed." Burt and Blaine shared a goodnight hug and as he hugged Carole goodnight too, both of them placing kisses to the others cheek, Carole held Blaine a little tighter than she probably should have. The protective, motherly instinct was coming out of her and although she didn't know what was wrong, it didn't stop her from holding on that little bit longer and tighter, telling Blaine that she was there for him, whenever he wanted. She gently stroked his cheek as he pulled out of their embrace before pulling away completely, a smile on his face. Blaine pressed a gentle kiss to Kurts cheek as he passed him, Kurt smiling bashfully and squeezing his hand in return.

"See you tomorrow kiddo" Burt shouted as Blaine rounded the stairs, Caroles eyes closely following him until he was out of sight. As she heard the sound of muffled footsteps on the upstairs landing, the sound of their bedroom door clicking shut, she wasted no time in finding out the truth.

"Okay, what's wrong with him? What happened?" she asked, genuine concern lacing her voice.

"Nothing" Kurt promptly shook his head but the high pitched tone of his voice that only happened when Kurt was nervous gave him away.

"Kurt" Carole prompted.

"He seemed okay to me" Burt offered. "I mean, he did seem a bit - I don't know but he said he was tired and who can blame him hon."

"No there was something different" Carole replied quietly. "Please Kurt. Just, ease my worries because I will just come up with so many different scenarios and I'll worry all night. He's not my son but I love him like he is and he is as close to family as anyone could get without being blood related." Carole knew she had struck a chord when Kurt averted her gaze in favour of focusing on something to the side of him, playing and twisting his hands uncomfortably in front of him. "Please" she pleaded once more.

"How did you know?" Kurt whispered as he turned back towards her after a few moments of silence.

"Call it mothers instinct honey" Carole shrugged as she smiled sadly.

"So Carole was right?" Burt asked. "Something did happen?" Kurt nodded, conforming their suspicions once and for all. Kurt made to sit next to Carole on one of the stools, his entwined fingers in front of him on the counter. Burt and Carole waited patiently as they could tell Kurt was preparing himself to explain what had happened to them. Burt and Carole cared so much about Blaine. He wasn't just Kurts boyfriend to them. Like Carole had said, he was family without being family but sometimes, true family didn't always mean you had to be blood related and as Richard Bach once quoted, _"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life" _and respect and joy was certainly something Blaine brought to them.

"His parents were there tonight" Kurt suddenly revealed. "We were walking out - well I had to go back in because I'd left my scarf on my chair but, as I walked out, there they were. They were waiting for him as we left."

"Oh my god. Poor kid" Burt sighed, rubbing his hand over his forehead. "Well what happened? Did they say something?" Burts voice started to get more and more frantic. Kurt shook his head

"Blaine didn't really give them a chance to. Not that I blame him" he quickly added. "I mean, two years have nearly passed but, they still really hurt him and I think it was obvious tonight that a lot of those wounds are still quite raw for him."

"So they wanted to talk to him but he didn't really talk to them?" Carole clarified to which Kurt nodded.

"But I did"

"_Kurt_" Burt exclaimed.

"Blaine knows I spoke to them" he defended. "I wasn't about to go behind his back. I just - I had a lot of questions that I needed answered. But there was one thing that really surprised me, above everything" Kurt said as he shook his head, thinking back on his earlier conversation with his boyfriends parents.

"What's that?" Burt asked.

"They don't seem like bad people."

* * *

><p>Kurt stayed downstairs to talk to Burt and Carole for at least another 10 minutes before descending up the stairs towards Blaine. As he walked up the stairs, he thought back on the words from the conversation he had just left.<p>

_"What do you mean you don't think they're bad people?" His father asked. _

_"Exactly that" Kurt simply replied. "I'm not saying that they're completely innocent because I'm sure they're not but, I'm old enough to know that sometimes people say things they don't mean or maybe say things that are hurtful and sometimes the reason for them isn't quite that simple. I know whatever they did say to Blaine was hurtful enough for him to not want to talk to them then and still not want to talk to them now but, I just, I don't think it was always that way."_

Clasped tightly in either of his hands were two steaming cups of Hot Chocolate in the biggest mugs Kurt could find in the kitchen cupboard. Although a Hot Chocolate wasn't about to even begin to solve any of Blaines problems, Kurt figured right now Blaine could use something warm and comforting and with the real chocolate Kurt melted into the drink, the perfectly swirled mountains of whipped cream that sat on top of the beverages, traces of melted cream running down the sides and the marshmallows that Kurt lovingly placed carefully on top and the chocolate shavings and chocolate dusting, Kurt was sure this would definitely be comforting to Blaine right now. Kurt also knew he had an advantage as Blaine made it no secret to him that he was fond of Kurts Hot Chocolate. Kurt remembered the first time he had ever made one for Blaine, a time when they were still strictly in the friends stage but Kurt had already reached the unbelievably head over heels stage. They were studying together and as the night grew longer and yawns from either boy became more frequent, Kurt made the drinks for them and as soon as Blaine took a sip, Kurt could've sworn his insides melted as the noise Blaine made should've been illegal.

He was surprised to find that their bedroom door was only slightly ajar and not fully shut as he expected to find it. As he pushed it open, he found Blaine sitting cross legged on the bed, his head bowed as he played with the corner of a pillow he was resting in his lap. Kurts heart wanted to leap out of his chest at the sight. There was no other word to describe it - it was painful. His boyfriend who was optimistic, happy and always looking to laugh about something looked as though his whole world had come crashing down. Kurt just wanted to take him in his arms, hug and kiss all of his problems away but obviously, that just wasn't an option. Of course Kurt had seen Blaine upset and sad but this, this was something else.

Blaine was always so strong for Kurt and now it was Kurts time to be strong for Blaine.

"Hey you" he cooed as he walked into the room and Blaine immediately looked up, a smile playing on his lips.

"Hey" he replied quietly.

"I come bearing gifts" Kurt said sheepishly as he held up the two mugs slightly higher in his grasp to which Blaine smiled sadly. "I know this isn't even going to begin to make things better but -"

"_You _make me feel better" Blaine said without even thinking about it, but it was true. His problems were still there but when Kurt walked into the room, for those few seconds, nothing else mattered and his world was a little brighter because despite everything, he still had Kurt. "I love you for the thought though" Blaine added as Kurt handed him one of the drinks and sat beside him on the bed. "You know how much I love these" he quipped and Kurt smiled.

"Do you want to talk about it now or later?" Kurt asked after a few moments. He was careful not to say "are you ready to talk" because he noted how forceful and expectant it sounded and he had to let Blaine know that he didn't expect anything from him and wasn't about to force anything out of him. However, another part of him knew that this wasn't something that they could just brush under the rug.

But Blaine nodded.

"Okay" Kurt exhaled. Kurt shuffled slightly on the bed to face Blaine and Blaine quickly shuffled in his position to mirror Kurts.

"Where to start though" Blaine sighed, almost resigned.

"Okay well I'll start" Kurt smiled encouragingly but even he struggled to pin point a good place to start and Blaine seemed to pick up on this.

"So many questions right?" he quipped. "So many places to begin"

"Yeah" Kurt sighed. "Well, okay, how did you - _what _did you feel when you saw them tonight?"

"To be honest, I'm not too sure. I - I felt a lot of things. I felt like angry, hurt, confused - part of me felt like running away but then another part of me told me not too. It was like a lot of things I thought I'd moved on from just suddenly came rushing back."

"Happy wasn't one of those words" Kurt noted. "You weren't happy to see them."

"No and that's one of the biggest problems." Kurt tilted his head inquisitively. "I've been thinking - I've done a lot of thinking since I've been up here and, I realised that I _wanted _to be. It's like, you know when you go without something you love for so long, you start to think that you can live without it but then once you have it again, you realise how much you really have _missed _it and you want it again. That's kind of how I feel about them."

"I understand that" Kurt replied sadly.

Blaine sighed almost exasperatedly, running his hands over his face and then his forehead.

"I don't know what to do" he admitted and Kurts heart could've easily split in two at how broken it sounded. "It should be so easy right? So simple? My dad basically told me that he didn't want to see me again. They didn't want to know you. I should be angry and never want to see them again. And I am angry but -"

"They're your parents" Kurt finished for him. Blaine nodded.

"Can you tell me what happened that night?" Kurt asked hopefully. "It's okay if you don't but I- "

"No" Blaine said promptly and Kurt thought for a second that Blaine had just flat out refused but he quickly realised that Blaine was referring to the latter part of his statement. "No it's - It's okay. It's about time. You should know everything. We're in this together right?" Blaine smiled hopefully, mirroring what Kurt had said to him earlier on in the car.

"Until the end" Kurt said as he took Blaines hands in his.

"We got together in last year March right?" Both of them smiled and laughed as they thought back on that oh, so glorious day. "Well I went home for the Easter break in late April to see them - You'd already transferred back to McKinley by this time..."

* * *

><p><em>That particular day, Blaine had spent the day round Kurts. They had spent the day like any normal teenage couple - talking, laughing and watching a movie that was soon forgotten in favour of kisses. They were so <em>_sickeningly__ happy. At this point, Blaine and Kurt had been dating for just over a month and it had been filled with nothing but pure bliss. Blaine didn't think it was possible to be __**this **__happy. He'd dreamt about it, he'd seen actors act it out in the movies but he didn't think it was truly possible. Everything was new and exciting. He struggled to remember how he had managed to spend days with Kurt without being like this because this, this was __**heaven**__. Not only did he have his best friend; his best friend was now his boyfriend. He had the best of both worlds. _

_Blaine was a Senior at Dalton and his acceptance letter from the University of Michigan the week before had filled his life with even more brightness. Although Kurt was still a Junior and had worries about the distance that would soon be between them from September, both of them knew that this was real. Blaines life couldn't be going more perfect. _

_"Okay, Okay - "Blaine smiled against Kurts mouth, peppering kisses against them with every word. "- I really do have to go."_

_"I don't want you to" Kurt pouted which was soon kissed away. _

_"I don't either but my mum and dad are expecting me soon. They just flew home the other day celebrating their __anniversary__ in France so I'm telling them about Michigan today" Blaine smiled. _

_"They're going to be so proud of you" Kurt said as he played with Blaines collar. "I know I am."_

_"There is another thing I want to tell them too."_

_"Mmm and __what's__ that?" Kurt cooed. _

_"About us. That I can now, proudly so, not only call Kurt Hummel my best friend but also, my boyfriend." Blaine furrowed his eyebrows as Kurt looked weary. _

_"Are you sure? I mean, I know that when you told me about when you came out they weren't, well, more your dad wasn't exactly as understanding as my Dad was."_

_"They have to know Kurt" Blaine replied. He remembered his Dads piercing words "It's a phase, no you're not" and his mums constant crying although sometimes Blaine wasn't sure if that was because of what he had told them or the fact her husband and son were practically at loggerheads. "They're my parents. And besides, Cooper loves you so why shouldn't they." Kurt raised his eyebrows as he tilted his head as if to say "seriously?"_

_"Look, babe - " Blaine started, wrapping his arms tighter around Kurts waist. " - I don't know what's going to happen but what I do know is that you're important to me Kurt and I want them to know that. For me, this isn't some school boy crush or silly high school relationship."_

_"It isn't for me either" Kurt said as he looked at Blaine through his eyelashes. They were so close as each of them had their arms wrapped around __each other__ as they stood in the middle of Kurts room. _

_"I know" Blaine smiled. "Which is why they should know too. And besides, I'm not about to hide something I'm so proud and happy about."_

_"Okay" Kurt smiled. "Just - let me know what happens okay?"_

_Blaine nodded as he kissed Kurts lips one last time. "I'll see you later" he smiled before __begrudgingly__ unwrapping his arms from around Kurts waist and walking out of his door. Blaine knew that someday soon, he would be ending his goodbyes with an "I love you" on the end and he would mean every single word. _

* * *

><p><em>"I got into Michigan!" Blaine exclaimed excitedly to his parents who he had gathered together on the brown leather sofa in the living room. <em>

_"Blaine!" His mother squealed. "Honey __that's__, this is - I'm so proud of you" she squealed, jumping out of her seat to __congratulate__ her son. _

_"I had no doubts that you could do it. Well done son" His dad smiled and it was times like this that Blaine really realised how much he did love his parents. Their relationship was okay, but it was different than before. Although Blaine was now eighteen and had come out to his parents three years ago, the subject still hung over them like a dark grey cloud. Blaines brother, Cooper had no qualms to his brothers sexuality and even pointed out cute guys to Blaine but for Blaines parents, it was obviously something they still struggled with. They didn't talk about it. It felt like at times they wanted to, but they just didn't. It was easier to ignore. _

_"I urm, __there's__ something else I want to talk to you about" Blaine said. His parents obviously sensed the change in tone as they eyed __each other__ before sitting back down. _

_"Erm, I know either of you haven't met him yet but you know Kurt. Obviously we've been friends for a while now but recently, we took things further and well, we're together" Blaine finished with a small smile as he tried to gauge their reactions. His mum nodded to herself, as if she was mulling it over. His dad however seemed distant. _

_"How erm - how long has it been?" His mum asked, her voice small but almost genuine, like she wanted to know more and understand more. _

_"Just over a month. It was before Regionals. We - "_

_"I need some water" his dad declared before standing firmly on his feet and strode off in the direction of the open plan kitchen that was right next to the living room. _

_"So you're just not going to listen?" Blaine accused as he walked into the kitchen whilst his father held a small glass under the faucet. "You can't keep doing this dad! This is real!"_

_"It's NOT REAL!" Nathan bellowed back in a voice that __surprised__ even him and equally scared both Blaine and his mother._

_"I don't understand why you're acting like this" Blaine said, his voice beginning to crack, __simultaneously__ pushing back the tears he felt pricking at his eyes. "You know I'm gay so why can't you accept this! You love mum right?" Blaine gestured back to his mum who was standing behind him. "You know what love feels like and how it makes you feel and how, how __there's__ no other feeling that compares to it. It's overwhelming and __frightening__ because it's scary to care so much for one person but it's amazing and powerful, it consumes everything within you in the best way possible. When I'm with Kurt, I finally understand true happiness. He makes me feel happy and loved and worthy and like I can do or __**be **__anything and when I'm not with him, he's all I think about." Blaine unashamedly let the tears he had tried so hard to force back fall down his cheeks. "I just - I don't understand why you wouldn't want that for me. Well no - " he scoffed. "- I think I do. You'd just prefer me to feel that with a girl."_

_"I just don't agree with it" his dad calmly said. Blaine drew a sharp breath before he spoke. _

_"Well I'm sorry dad but, I don't feel that way. Really, I never have. I'm gay" he said through his tears. I'm gay and I'm in love with a boy and I'm not ashamed. And neither should you." That was the first time Blaine had said out loud that he was in love with Kurt. He'd known it himself for a couple of weeks and a part of him wished the first time he had admitted that had been to Kurt in some picture perfect romantic setting and not been thrown out in the middle of an argument, but it had, and it was the gods honest truth. And he would tell him. Soon. _

_"I think you should go" his dad said after a while, the silence thick and __stifling__ in the air. "While you're with that boy, I don't think you should be here."_

_"Nathan! He's our son!" Blaines mum spoke for the first time throughout the whole altercation but it seemed as though it was too late. _

_"No mum, it's okay. Because I was thinking the same thing" Blaine said, finding courage in his voice as he turned back towards his dad. "But __here's__ the thing, even if I'm not with Kurt or "that boy", I'm still gay so the sooner you come to terms with that, the better. But don't worry, I have no intentions of coming back to a place where I'm not truly accepted."_

_Blaine walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the stairs to pack his things. He could hear the hushed tones of his parents talking as he walked away but he couldn't make out what they were saying. As he was just about to round the stairs, he stopped and walked back into the Kitchen. _

_"I really hope that one day, you'll both truly understand."_

* * *

><p>"A lot of my stuff as you know was already with me at Dalton so I packed some things that I'd left behind and I just left. I came to you that night because I just needed to see you. Like I needed to know you were still there. Dalton was still open for students because not everyone goes home so I went back for those two weeks and just buried myself in studying for finals and then I spent the summer at Davids before we both moved down to Michigan. My mum tried calling me, texting me in the first couple of days after but, I just wasn't ready to talk. So I never answered. And then she stopped." Both of them had tear stained cheeks by the end of Blaines revelation. Kurt couldn't believe that Blaine had gone through all of that pain without telling him.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt whispered.

"Because we were happy" Blaine offered. "We were a new couple and, I just didn't want to drag you down with that. Besides, I went to University and as time went by, it started to hurt less and there was a part of me that thought maybe I didn't need them anymore. And believe it or not, by you just being you, you done so much for me and I felt like as long as I had you, Cooper and my friends, I would be okay."

"I'm so sorry."

"Honey no" Blaine cooed. "Why are _you _sorry?"

"Because - Because I knew something was wrong when you came to me that night - you were in _tears _Blaine. I knew something was wrong but I never asked. _Ever_. I didn't want to force anything out of you because I wanted you to tell me on your own terms but now I feel like if maybe I had asked, we could've fixed things sooner you wouldn't have had this on your shoulders for so long and I'm sorry because your dad didn't like the idea of me and - "

"Stop Kurt. Don't even go there" Blaine said determinedly. "If it wasn't you, it would've been some other guy my dad wouldn't have accepted. But this is not your fault - don't even think that for a second. And until tonight, I wasn't sure they ever did want to fix things. I wasn't sure if even I wanted to fix things. The core of the problem was accepting my sexuality and although I like to think that day, my mum started to come to terms with it, my dad couldn't. I don't regret leaving. I don't regret standing up for myself _and _us."

"I urm, I know that what they done and the things your dad said especially were completely unacceptable but they were obviously there tonight for a reason and I don't think it was to start another fight" Kurt said.

"I know" Blaine whispered. "Which is why I think I should talk to them. All of us - just, lay it all out on the table. And you think I should as well, don't you?"

"Guilty" Kurt quipped. "I just, when I stayed behind to speak to them, I knew they hurt you in some way but, you know, I would give anything, absolutely anything to have my mum still with me. To see me grow up, graduate, get married, to meet you, just to be my mum and - "

"I still have that chance" Blaine finished for him and Kurt smiled in reply.

"I gave them the address of this Coffee Shop - It's called 'Espresso Shotz'. I went there with Mercedes one day after school in Sophomore year. The days before The Lima Bean" Kurt joked as he played with their entwined fingers that rested in between them as still they sat cross legged on the bed, facing each other. "Maybe it's selfish of me but, I kind of just wanted to keep The Lima bean as _our _place. The Coffee's pretty good though at this place but I just thought that if you _did _decide you wanted to talk to them - " Kurt shrugged as he knew Blaine understood what he was saying.

"I love you _so _much" Blaine sniffled. His eyes were glazed but filled with nothing but complete love and admiration and completely genuine as he looked at Kurt.

"I love you forever" Kurt smiled, mirroring what Blaine had whispered in his ear in the Auditorium just hours earlier. "I would do anything for you. You know, you always make me feel so safe and you're always so strong for me and now I'm doing the same for you." Blaine smiled. "I told them to be there tomorrow at 2. But just remember, whatever you decide, you'll always have me and you have a family here with all of us. That'll never change."

"I don't deserve you" Blaine whispered, his face showing nothing but love for Kurt.

"Funny, I often think the same thing about you" Kurt smiled.

"I erm - " Blaine began before clearing his throat. " - I know you said that tonight wasn't ruined for you but I'm still sorry. This isn't exactly how I saw it ending."

"Hey" Kurt said as he cupped Blaines cheek with one of his hands. "Tonight was perfect. I _still _can't stop smiling. I can't believe you done that for me and I know my parents are so grateful towards you too."

Not much sleeping took place for the next few hours as they each showed the other, for different reasons, in their own ways that night, just how devoted they were to each other and the true meaning of love.

* * *

><p><em>1:54<em>

_1:57_

_1:59_

_2:01_

_2:04_

The minutes passed and passed as Blaine sat in his car that was currently parked up in the 'Espresso Shotz' car park. The engine was off but still he remained seated, watching the numbers on the digital clock display continuously change as the minutes ticked by with every second. He could see his mum and dad through the full length glass window, already sitting side by side at a small round table with two empty chairs opposite them, one of which they hoped to be soon occupied by their son.

Was he scared? Very. There was a small part of him wanted to put the car in reverse, drive out of the car park and to not look back. But if he did, it was likely that he would never know what was to come of this - he would never get the answers he so desperately wanted. The piercing message tone alert from his phone startled him as he proceeded to grab his phone from the compartment near the gear stick.

**Kurt:**  
><em>You can do this. I love you xx <em>

7 words. 7 words was all it took and suddenly, Blaine felt the burst of courage within him. He'd been given the final nudge that he needed, because he could do this - he knew he could and more importantly, he wanted to do this. Without a second thought, he opened the car door and stepped out, pressing the 'lock' button as he walked towards the entrance door.

* * *

><p>"I'm giving you a chance here" Blaine said as he approchaed the table his parents were sitting at. He slipped into the chair, holding the latte he had bought before sitting down, clasping it in between his entwined fingers. "Please don't let me be wrong about this."<p>

"Kurt's not with you?" Isabelle asked with genuine hopefulness. Blaine shook his head as he played nervously with his coffee lid.

"I think we really need to sort through things ourselves first" he replied truthfully. Blaine noticed how his dad pursed his lips together, nodding in agreement with what his son had just said.

"Yes. Yes you're probably right" his mum said quietly.

"Why?" Blaine blurted out after a while. For at least a minute, everything had been silent between the three of them, as if each of them were afraid to kick things off.

"Why what?" Nathan asked.

What was there _not_ to ask "why" about though. So many 'why's' were running through Blaines mind right then and since last night and really, since April of last year. _"Why are you here? Why now? Why did this happen? Just, why?"_

"Why - why are you here? What made you - " Blaine waved his hands in front of him as he struggled to find the words. " - you know, I don't understand. Why now?"

"We heard about everything from David's parents at dinner a couple of weeks ago but besides that, this, we - things have just gone on far, _far _too long" Isabelle tried to explain.

"So why didn't you get in touch sooner?"

"Because we didn't know if you would even want us to. And if you didn't, to be rejected by your own child, the person you create and carry in you for nine months before bringing them into the world, we couldn't handle that_. I_ couldn't handle that Blaine" Isabelle emphasised. "But we had to take a chance."

"But you rang me for the first few days. Don't you think that maybe after a while it would've been easier to talk about it?" Blaine asked

"Or it could have been the complete opposite and been extremely hard" Nathan offered. "You know, yes, sometimes when people have been given time to think things through, they react calmer to the situation however on other occasions, giving people more time to think about things can make them even more angry. Be honest Blaine, if we'd have called you, say, a month ago, would you have picked up the phone?"

"I don't know" Blaine whispered. He honestly didn't. He could see exactly where his dad was coming from because like he had told Kurt the night before, it _had _got easier over time, but that hadn't stopped the resentment he felt towards his parents from building up. Every new day was a day where things hadn't been resolved, another day where Blaine was left wondering, another day where he still didn't have any answers.

"If you hadn't picked up the phone or if we'd shown up at your doorstep and you never answered the door, that would have just broke my heart" Isabelle whispered, the slight waver in her voice suggesting that she was close to tears.

"I just still don't - we all know that neither of you are exactly lacking in intelligence, not with the law and medical degrees you have between you. You knew that I was gay, and not just for a few weeks or months, but for **three **whole years. Surely you must have realised that me having a boyfriend at some point was an inevitability" Blaine asked.

"We're being honest right?" Blaine nodded at his dads slightly rhetorical question. "It was easier to pretend" Nathan replied simply. "But then you met Kurt and, well, I couldn't pretend anymore. And I guess, when you were standing in front of us, telling us about this boy who had gone from being your best friend to your boyfriend, it kind of all hit home and - I - I know I didn't react very well - " Blaine slightly raised his eyebrows at the understatement of the century. "I didn't understand -"

"Didn't understand or didn't _want_ to understand?" Blaine interjected but Nathan was unphased.

" - But I'm sorry" Nathan proclaimed. "I truly am." Blaines eyes fell to the table as he started to feel emotional, feeling the genuine tone in his fathers voice. "And I know it's going to take a lot more than an apology but, it's a start."

"I never wanted to hide who I was from either of you" Blaine said. "And I didn't feel like I ever had to but as soon as I came out to you, things were different. And maybe I didn't have to hide because, you knew, there was nothing to hide from but, you know, it didn't take me long to realise that what I had with Kurt was something special. Something that I knew some people spend so long looking for. And I wanted to share that with you. I wanted to tell you that I had found this amazing person who gave me a reason to wake up every morning, who cared for me and made me feel like something, who put a smile on my face without even saying a word and even if he wasn't with me, just thinking about him would make me smile. I wanted to tell you that I was - _am_ - in love with Kurt, and I'm not ashamed by it. Because to love and to be loved is the single greatest feeling in the world; whether it be between a man and a woman or two men or two women, nobody should be denied one of lifes most natural rights and feeling."

There was no holding back now. Both Blaine and Nathan had let a few tears fall from their eyes, Isabelle however had let more than a few fall, not even phased by the mascara that was starting to run near the corners of her eyes but the mascara tracks were soon gone as they all reached for the napkins on the table.

"I wanted you to get to know him and love him just as much as I do. But you didn't want to" Blaine whispered sadly.

"We do now" Nathan assured.

"I urm - " Isabelle paused as she sniffled into her tissue, effectively clearing her throat too. "I know I never got the chance to see the two of you together before but, last night when we were sitting in the audience, I've never seen as much love and adoration in your eyes then there was when you looked at Kurt. And I felt _every_, _single _word you sung to him. Above everything, that's what I've always wanted for you." Blaine smiled and although he smiled quite sadly, it was the first time he had smiled all afternoon.

"I just wish you could have seen that sooner" he murmured.

"And its obvious how much he cares for you. It's the real deal huh" Nathan chirped. Blaine nodded.

"Can I just ask one thing and please, be honest with me" Blaine started. "If you hadn't found out about Kurt being ill, would you have even ever gotten back in contact with me? Would you have ever cared about Kurt if he wasn't ill?" It wasn't said maliciously but Blaine needed to know. He needed to know that they were doing this for the right reasons and not because they felt sympathetic towards their son and his critically ill boyfriend. Of course Blaine cared if they cared about Kurts wellbeing but he needed to know that they really did want to be in Blaines life again and want to know Kurt, cancer stricken or not.

"Honey before we even knew about Kurts illness, we wanted to get back in contact with you, because you're our son. We went through a rough patch as a family, that's undeniable, but we never stopped loving you Blaine. And that's a fact." Isabelle brought her handbag up from off of the floor, placing it in her lap before taking out an envelope. She handed it to Blaine who took it with confusion written all over his face. Both Isabelle and Nathan smiled brightly as they encouraged Blaine to open the envelope. Blaines jaw dropped as he pulled out the slip of paper that lay inside.

"We didn't know who to make it out to or which Hospital or treatment centre was dealing with all the chemotherapy treatments but we want to help" Nathan smiled.

Seven and a half _thousand _dollars. $7,500. Blaine couldn't even try to stop the tears pooling in his eyes because in his hands, he held a $7,500 cheque to go towards Kurts treatments. They wanted Kurt to get better as much as he did.

"I - How - " Blaine stammered. "This is too much. We can't accept this. I - "

"We've got savings" Nathan happily assured. "But that's not for you to worry about" he smiled.

"We've seen how Kurt makes you feel and equally how you make him feel. You need each other. Now this isn't our way of trying to buy your trust back or buy your forgiveness - we really do just want to help and we want to be there for you. For _both _of you. In any way we can" Isabelle smiled as she took her sons hand for the first time in months. She was both relieved and ecstatic when Blaine didn't pull away.

"I don't know what to say" Blaine whispered as he looked back at his parents with glazed eyes.

"Kurt seems like a lovely person" Isabelle declared, tightening her grasp of Blaines hand.

"He's the best" Blaine sniffed, a smile playing on his lips as he thought about Kurt.

"We'd love to get to know him. If that's okay with you both" Nathan asked.

Blaine honestly never thought he would see this day come. He had imagined countless scenarios of how today was going to go but this ending was more than he ever could have imagined.

"I'd love that" Blaine smiled.

Blaine honestly never thought he would ever be sitting at a table with his parents ever again but today, it was clear the Anderson family were making a fresh start, closing the book on a bad chapter of their lives. Today was the start of something new. Of course they hadn't quite mended every broken bridge but they wouldn't in a hour long sit down over coffee - these things needed time. But for the first time in eighteen months, Blaine felt like he had his parents back and Nathan and Isabelle felt as if they had their son back in their lives.

It was a start and that was all any of them could have asked for.

* * *

><p>The sound of music and the sweet, warm aroma of baking hit Blaine like a gale force wind as he stepped through the front door. He placed his keys in the basket and shrugged off his charcoal military jacket, hanging it up on the row of coat pegs. He walked towards the kitchen and with everyones car absent outside except for one, he knew that the baking culprit was Kurt, The Beatles 'Ticket To Ride' blocking every other noise out as his boyfriend sang animatedly along, happily baking away. Blaine leant against the wall for a moment admiring Kurt who had his back to him, cracking an egg into the batter he was currently beating away at.<p>

"OH! You scared me!" Kurt jumped as Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurts waist, pressing a kiss to the back of Kurts neck before placing his head over Kurts shoulder, Kurt leaning into Blaines body as it covered his own.

"Sorry" Blaine murmured into his neck. "You looked so cute though. I couldn't resist."

"Cheesy" Kurt smiled as he shook his head. Batter mixture pushed aside for later, Kurt turned around in Blaines arms, bringing his own arms to wrap around Blaines neck.

"Hi" he whispered before pressing his lips to Blaines.

"Hey" Blaine said as they pulled away.

"So" Kurt hedged encouragingly.

"So...what?" Blaines face scrunched up, exaggerating as Kurt lightly slapped the side of his arm.

"Don't keep me in suspense Blaine Anderson - this is all I've been able to think about all day and even baking didn't keep me as distracted as I hoped it would. How did it go? What happened?"

"Well - " Blaine started, a small smile playing at his lips. "How would you feel about going out to dinner tomorrow night with my parents?"

* * *

><p><strong>An - Soo?**

**I honestly loved writing this chapter and I loved writing the Kurt and Blaine scene in the bedroom because I really felt that the roles were reversed in this chapter - Like obviously we see a lot of Blaine being strong for Kurt in this so i loved writing Kurt being strong and there for Blaine:) **

**The big thing in this chapter though is obviously Blaines parents so I'd love to know what you guys thought of them. There were points where i got so stressed out with this chapter though and really scared because I feel like I made Blaines parents sound like really, really awful in Chapter 1 and it was hard trying to figure out how to make this chapter believable especially as this is how i've always pictured this chapter being written - I never wanted them to be homophobic though but i wanted it more to be that they didnt understand, this was all new to them and they didn't react in the best way but they realised that at the end of the day, Blaines their son - I'm getting stressed even trying to put it into words but i hope through this chapter, you see my plan and that this is Nathan and Isabelles characterisation that i wanted and that they're not these awful monsters and everyone makes mistakes and says stuff they regret:)**

**Reviews**

**nomorecandles**  
><strong>I'm so happy you liked the fundraiser! Thats such a relief to me:) <strong>  
><strong>How did your sister do with her results!? I hope she got into Oxford! Gosh she's way more cleverer than me:) <strong>

**oliviaanne3**  
><strong><em>Best chapter ever. I just cant even put it into words. The event was everything I had hoped it would be and more.<em>**  
><strong>I just - Honestly that means so much to me:) Thank you so much babe and i'm so happy it met your expectations:)<strong>

**BowtiesandMusicals**  
><strong>Oh gosh i'd love if my final exams were only a week or 2 - mine basically lasted for the whole month of June cause they were all spread out :(<strong>  
><strong>Well i hope you're not angry with me for the wait on this one too :(<strong>  
><strong>I'm so happy you liked chapter 12 AND the songs - I love that you loved the songs:)<strong>  
><strong>I had so much fun in Scotland thank you babe - it's utterly beautiful:) I hope you're classes are going okayy!<strong>  
><strong>Thank youu!:)<strong>

**cold kagome**  
><strong>I really hope thats a 'Wow' this chapter was good and not 'Wow' i just wasted 20 minutes of my life reading this - I hope its the first one and if it is - That simple word means so much to me so thank you so much honey:)<strong>

**RozarieCriss**  
><strong>I got the email through on my phone for your review when i was on holiday and oh my gosh, yours made me smile SO MUCH! I was literally standing in our lodge waiting to go out, grinning like an idiot :D <strong>  
><strong>Im sorry i always make you cryy :( <strong>  
><strong>I can't believe i've been writing it for a year! it's gone so quick but i've loved every second of it:) <strong>  
><strong>Mine was the first one you found!? Wow thats - oh my gosh thats amazing! Well i hope i havent dissapointed you:)<strong>  
><strong>Don't worry honey, until this storys finished (which it isnt for a good few more chapters), I won't stop writing:) <strong>  
><strong>No, thank YOU for reading:)<strong>

**Okay 3 week updates are still my plan and I've already started Chapter 14 so heres hoping but honestly, just always remember this isn't abandoned:) I just suck at being organised with my life:( **

**Until next time my lovelyys:)(L)xx**


	15. Chapter 14

**Authors Note - I am so, so, so sorry; I bet you're so bored of hearing that but i am! I've been trying to get this up for so long and even though i pretty much had the whole chapter planned out - writers block struck me majorly! So yeah I'm really sorry:( But it's here! **

**So as usual, thank you to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed this - you guys are the best!:) **

**So you know, on a completely sepereate note, it's actually my birthday todayyy! So i thought it was kind of cool so although it wasn't intentional and i really did only just finish this chapter at 1am this morning, this is my gift to you:)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own glee or any of the characters/places named in this.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

Hours had passed since Blaine had sat in a quaint little coffee shop, opposite his parents for the first time in nearly eighteen months where they began to rebuild the broken bridges between them. Sometime after dinner that same night, Blaine gathered the whole Hummel-Hudson clan together around the dining table to discuss something important, something

"I wanted all of us to be together to talk about this" Blaine began as everyone made themselves comfortable around the table, tucking their chairs in. Burt sat at one end of the table whilst Blaine sat at the other end. Kurt and Carole both chose to sit next to their significant others whilst Finn took up a whole side to himself.

"You're not moving out on us kid are you?" Burt joked but the look Kurt shot across to his Dad showed he didn't see the humour in it at all.

"No" Blaine laughs. "No, no nothing like that. No what I wanted to talk about was, well as you all know, I met up with my parents earlier on this afternoon and, well, it went unexpectedly, _really _well. And, well they gave me something that's intended for Kurt."

"For me?" Kurt asked, completely surprised. "Wha - Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"You'll understand why soon" Blaine replies. Everyone exchanged furrowed looks as they had no clue what to expect.

"Well don't leave us hanging kid. You said everything went well - It can't be that bad then, right?" Burt laughed nervously.

"Oh no, It's not bad" Blaine replied smoothly as he reached into the pocket of his dark blue jeans, pulling a small folded piece of paper out and sliding it to the middle of the table. "Definitely not bad."

It was as if there was one last cupcake left on the table and everyone sat completely still because they all wanted it but each of them were too polite to just out rightly take it. Eventually, Kurt bit the bullet and reached for the piece of paper. He opened it painfully slowly but as the piece of paper surely formed into a cheque, unsurprisingly to Blaine, Kurts eyes widened as he read the handwritten text.

"Oh my god" Kurt said breathlessly. He looked at Blaine who looked at him as if to say _"I know. I can't believe it too."_ "Dad, look" Kurt passed the cheque promptly over to his father, Carole and Finn leaning in either side of Burt to read it too.

"Whoa" was all Finn managed to express whilst Carole inhaled sharply, covering her mouth with one of her hands as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes.

"Holy sh- Is, is this real?" Burt asked Blaine, completely shell shocked at the small, rectangular piece of paper in his hands that could possibly change a lot of things. Blaine simply nodded.

"As real as can be" Blaine offered with a small shrug of his shoulders. "My parents have savings accounts and have been putting money into them, pretty much since the beginning of their careers. But they were clear in that this isn't them paying their way for forgiveness or anything like that; this is their way of wanting to help and offer their support to us."

What do your parents do again honey?" Carole asked gently. As Blaine reminded her of his parents high profile occupations, his dad being a corporate lawyer and his mother a oncologist, Finn let out whistle to show his impress.

"And Coopers an actor? No pressure on you then" he joked to which Blaine playfully rolled his eyes at before gently laughing.

"You know" Burt started, bringing the conversation back to the point, or cheque in hand, "I'm not going to pretend and say that this isn't helpful, because it is. What do you think about it bud?" Burt asked Blaine.

"I just don't want you guys to feel like you have to accept it, like it's being forced upon you. But, on the other hand, I want what's best for Kurt. I want what's best for _all _of us. I don't want this to be something the could cause friction or animosity in any way" Blaine said.

"Reality is, is that bills are expensive and with this and our own income combined, there's no doubt that they'll be able to be paid off and Kurt can carry on getting the treatment he needs. Kurt - " Burt lifted his chin to Kurts direction, "- Pretty quiet there bud. What do you think?"

"Its incredible" he replied simply. "And I'm so, so, grateful - more than I'll ever be able to put into words. But, I can't accept it. At least not yet. It's like, I know they're your parents - " Kurt said as he looked at Blaine, " - and obviously you have that connection with them but I don't. I don't know them yet. I don't know anything about them, things that I should know. I don't know who's the better cook out of them or what your mums favourite place to shop in or what your dad does in his down time. I just, It's important to me for me to get to know them a little better before I accept something as substantial as this from them."

"I think that's very mature of you sweetheart" Carole expressed, reaching for Kurts hand that was next to her. "It's decided then."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Blaine asked as he turned his head towards Kurt who was sitting with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Absolutely positive" he replied, nodding his head for emphasis. "Would you fully accept seven and a half grand from my parents if you had never even had one sit down, civilised conversation with them?" he questioned.

Blaines mouth slightly parted but as he paused and thought about it, he realised Kurt was completely right. Of course he wouldn't. Even though he and Kurt had been dating for two months short of two years, if he had found himself in financial trouble and Burt and Carole offered him a large sum of money, despite never having met Blaine before, Blaine realised that he would feel funny about accepting the money so readily too. It almost would have felt like taking money off of a stranger and listening to Kurt this evening, he realised that Kurt didn't want Blaines parents to be strangers anymore. To answer Kurts question, he simply shook his head.

"I just, It's important for me to get to know the people behind the cheque. I can't just accept it before truly knowing them. I want to be able to know their personalities and know more about them but it's not just about the money either. Inevitably, I want this for us. I want to be able to build a sense of trust and respect between us all and to include them in the life we've made so far, and tomorrow night at dinner, we'll take those first steps. _Together_" Kurt smiled as he softly shook the clasped hands that rested on the table.

* * *

><p>To put it simply, the dinner was a complete and utter success.<p>

As the night begun, Blaine nervously, but none the less proudly so introduced Kurt to his parents as they walked up to the table his parents were already sitting at but genuine pleasantries were made as outstretched hands were shook and accepted, Isabelle and Kurt even taking a step forward into a hug and although it felt a little awkward at first, it was clear that an effort was being made from both parties. They each had felt their own feeling of anxiousness at the beginning of the night as they all sat down together for the first time at the rounded table at 'Delizioso' - Limas finest Italian restaurant and as expected, at the beginning of the night, there had been a few awkward silences and small talk questions but as the night went on, each of them savouring the beautiful food and wine they indulged in, Nathan specifically requesting "the finest bottle you have for this special occasion" and talked and laughed between them, they were all equally surprised as to how easy it all was. It almost felt as though they had been doing this for so long, that the last eighteen months had never happened; it felt more like they were all getting together for a dinner gathering they organised regularly to keep up to date with each others lives.

"Oh Kurt, the stories I could tell you about Blaine when he was younger" Isabelle laughed. "Cooper sat him down one day to watch The Land Before Time and for about a whole week after watching it, he ran around the house pretending to be one of the dinosaurs - gosh what was his name, Foot? Little feet? I - "

"It was Little Foot" Blaine corrected his mum as he murmured his answer, his head buried as deep as possible into his hands.

"That's the one!" Isabelle exclaimed excitedly. "Oh another one he absolutely adored was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - "

"Urgh that film is such a classic!" Kurt intercepted as he listened intently.

"I think Blaine would agree with you if the fact that he rewound and watched his video tape so often that the film reel would come out nearly every single time and by the fact that he went into Nathans office one day, grabbed a piece of paper from his desk and used his zigzag patterned scissors to cut out a rectangle, used his gold colouring pencil to colour it in and ran around the house singing "I've got a golden ticket." Kurt laughed in amusement before exclaiming an elongated "awwh" as he smiled at his boyfriend who looked as though he was desperate for the ground to swallow him right there and then.

"I beg of you, please stop before Kurt dumps me right here and now" Blaine groaned whilst Kurt, Nathan and Isabelle shared looks of amusement about his embarrassment.

"Oh no please, _PLEASE_, continue this completely adorable trip down memory lane" Kurt laughed. "Besides - " he started as he leaned into Blaines side. " - I'm pretty sure that nothing that could be said at this table tonight would ever make me want to leave you" Kurt said quietly, a moment shared only between him and Blaine.

As Blaine took Kurts hand, the two of them showing nothing but love and adoration on their faces, Blaine was comforted by the fact that neither of his parents had raised their eyebrows at the action nor had they looked away, but rather they smiled at the physical symbol of their affection.

Kurt had now been officially introduced into his parents life and progress was being made with each passing second - that was all Blaine could have ever wanted.

* * *

><p>It was hard to believe that only 5 days had passed since the fundraiser concert had been held. so much had changed and taken place in those days. relationships were being rebuilt and new ones were being formed. Following the success of the official "meet the parents" dinner Blaine, Kurt, Isabelle and Nathan had held between them, a date within the coming weeks had already been set for another occasion where along with Kurt and Blaine, Burt and Carole would now have the chance to meet the other side of the family. It was an unspoken understanding between the four adults that they were all going to be a part of each others lives long into the foreseeable future and so they didn't see any point in waiting to start building connections between them all.<br>Also in the past five days, Burt, Carole, Kurt, Finn and Blaine had all found time to sit down together and calculate the total proceedings they received from the fundraiser. It took them approximately an hour where they initially shook their heads at the total, before recounting, checking and rechecking it again to ensure that the total of $2, 475 was indeed, accurate. Kurt and Carole both unashamedly wept tears of disbelief as they felt overwhelmed at the total whereas Burt sat silently, as if he was trying to let it all sink in and Blaine and Finn quickly recovered from their shock as they smiled proudly at each other and fist bumped the other, proud at what they and their friends had achieved for someone they loved. They were all so overwhelmed and grateful at the piles of dollar bills, stacked in organised piles on the dining room table, concrete evidence of peoples kindness and willingness to help in any way they could. The money was safely packed away and secured tightly, ready to be taken to the back the very next morning, along with the cheque from Nathan and Isabelle which was put into a brand new savings account that Burt and Carole had set up whilst they were there, specifically to be used for Kurts treatments so that when they felt the time was right for the money to be used, it was there waiting for them.

A lot had happened In the past five days but now, today was September 20th. Today was "Check Up" day.

* * *

><p>"Dad you know you didn't have to come today" Kurt said as he settled himself into the brown, leather armchair he had been sitting in for hours on end, every three to four weeks for the last four months. Blaine and Burt each retrieved the spare chairs in the corner of the room, bringing them into the centre of the room, sitting either side of Kurt.<p>

"I would've been okay" Kurt assured.

"Are you kidding? I already feel guilty enough that I haven't been able to make it to any of your previous sessions - " Burt sighed.

"You're working dad" Kurt reasoned. "I'm not a little boy anymore. I'm eighteen. I get it. I know you would be here if you could."

"Well, that may be so - " Burt protested, clearly still showing feelings of guilt despite his own son telling him to feel otherwise.

"Dad, seriously - it's okay" Kurt said gently. "As far as I'm concerned, this is the easy part. I sit here and the machine does all the work for me. As soon as I get home, that's when the hard work begins, and you're always there for me, helping me and supporting me and that's what truly matters to me" Kurt smiled.

Burt found himself wondering when exactly had his only son because so mature and wise. With a blink of an eye, Kurt had transformed from a young boy who badgered Burt into playing tea parties with him (even though a part of Burt secretly enjoyed it) and teaching Kurt how to ride a bike into a strong, ambitious, wise man, heading for a bigger and brighter future than Lima, Ohio could offer him and furthermore, he had found someone to share all of that with. Burt couldn't have been more proud.

"Well - " Burt sniffed, desperately trying to hide the tears that threatened to surface, "I'm just glad I'm here today, you know, with this one being...different" he trailed off.

Burt didn't need to say the words for each of them to understand what he meant by this particular appointment being different. With every session, they went home clueless but riled with hope that the treatment was actually working but today, with this particular session, they would go home and anxiously await a set of results which would determine whether it in fact, has been working all this time or not.

"Boys!" Steph smiled as she burst into the room, a ray of sunshine as always. "And I'm going to hopefully, correctly assume this is your dad Kurt?" Steph smiled warmly.

"Burt Hummel" Burt smiled as rose out of his chair, extending his hand which Steph promptly took.

"It's honestly such a pleasure to meet you Burt. I'm Steph, Kurts nurse - I've been overseeing all of his treatment sessions."

"Well I guess I have a lot to be thankful for towards you - looking after my boy so well" Burt smiled.

"Just doing my job" Steph replied modestly. "Quite a son you've got here - you should be extremely proud."

"I'm the proudest" Burt replied simply.

_"Daaad"_ Blaine laughed as Kurt slightly slumped down in his chair, bringing one of his hands to his forehead, slightly embarrassed with the attention.

"Well Burt, I hope you've come prepared today - I'm sure Kurt's told you how boring these sessions can be" Steph said as she gathered a few things together in the built in cupboards at the back of the room, laying them out on the sideboard that was built into the middle of the wall to wall cupboards.

"_Tried _to!" Kurt insisted to which all of them laughed.

"Okay - " Steph started as she walked back from around the back of the room to stand in front of the Kurt, Burt and Blaine. "Now I'm just going to run through what is going to happen today because obviously the procedure is going to run a little differently to what you're used to." As she had been talking, Blaine had retrieved yet another chair from the corner of the room, bringing it over for Steph to sit down on. She smiled gratefully at Blaine. "Okay so first of all, we're going to start by conducting a CT scan. It's completely non-invasive procedure that will give us a clearer picture on what is going on inside your body. We'll then move on to take some blood samples from you. Now these two types of tests are what is going to show us how the cancer cells are reacting to the chemotherapy and then, as per scheduled, we'll move forward with your fourth chemo session." They all nodded as they intently took the information in. "Now I know we've already been through this and you might get sick of me saying it and you might feel like screaming "shush" at me - " Stephs casual, light hearted approach made them all laugh, each of them feeling instantly more relaxed and they couldn't have been more grateful. " - but it's important that you know why we're doing this. So as you've already had three out of your six sessions which are scheduled to take place over a six month period, the Doctors like to see how the chemotherapy is progressing and to see if your body is accepting it or not. They use this halfway point because then this way, we know that we've given it a substantial amount of time and we see where we go from here, whether we alter the treatment or leave it just as it is. So, if the chemotherapy looks to be reducing the cancer cells, excellent! And because you're already going to receive you're fourth one today like normal, we would conduct the last two like normal and then assess the situation similar to today and see if we need to do more chemotherapy but if from the results today, we can clearly see that it isn't working, then we will start to look into other options."

"Like radiotherapy and bone marrow treatments?" Burt questioned.

"That's right. There are a few more options we can look into too but they are the two more common options and more than likely, the ones we would look into first." Steph clarified.

"How long will it take for the results to come through?" Kurt asked, his voice small and meek.

"About two weeks honey" Steph smiled. "The results need to be analysed by our radiologist and then they will be sent off to Doctor Rolstone and then he will discuss them with you." A silence hung over the room, lingering like a dark cloud, nobody saying a word until Steph asked "Are you happy with everything? You all understand what will happen?" With everyone showing nods of confirmation, they proceeded with the days tasks.

* * *

><p>They started off, as explained by Steph earlier on, by moving into another room to conduct the CT scan. They all stayed in the room as Kurt settled himself onto the long white board but they soon had to move into the adjoining room so that they could begin the scan. As the lights in the room dimmed and the board mechanically moved Kurt into the round, hollow tunnel, Burt and Blaine were helpless as to do anything but watch through the glass as Kurt lay there, alone. It was hospital regulations that whilst a scan was taking place, the only person in the room could be the patient and it was harder than either Burt or Blaine initially thought it would be because all they wanted to do was to be in the room with him, even if they couldn't hold his hand, they just wanted to be there in some way to support him. The scans took around half an hour and soon enough, they were all back in the room they had become so accustomed to and familiar with over the last few months to begin the blood tests. As Steph gently inserted needle after needle into different designated areas, Kurt was grateful for Blaine holding his hand and his dad showing his support by squeezing at his shoulder from behind him because one needle was just about bearable but having <em>three<em>, one right after the other, also with having to watch the blood being drawn mercilessly from his body go into a tiny tube was another story. Steph wiped over the site where the final needle had been in his arm with an antiseptic wipe and Kurt almost felt relieved when she clapped her hands together and proclaimed "done!". She quickly filled out a sheet of paper, the sound of the pen scratching against the surface the only sound to be heard in the room. She filled it out so quickly which suggested to them that she had completed the same sheet for different people several times before. The paper was then attached to the clear plastic bag in which the samples had been carefully placed earlier where minutes later, a young nurse knocked on the door and waited patiently in the doorway to collect the samples, with Kurt overhearing Steph asking her to "take these down to Radiology as soon as possible please" as she completed the handover.  
>In comparison to the last two activities, the Chemotherapy session was a breeze and Kurt, as well as everyone else in the room finally felt as though they could relax. Although Kurt and Blaine were used to the process by now, Burt watched in fascination as he learnt and noted every single thing. He watched as Kurt settled himself more comfortably into the armchair as Steph brought over the required machines and hooked up the IV drip before gently injecting the cannula into the back of Kurts hand.<br>Burt quickly realised that Kurt, Blaine and Steph weren't exaggerating when the talked about it being a long process. Although he fidgeted in his chair countless times; his lower body growing stiff on the plastic chair, read two magazines cover to cover at least twice, one about autos and the other about mindless celebrity gossip he really had no interest for and happily walked to the visitors cafe to purchase coffee for himself and Blaine as Kurt dozed in his chair, he knew there was no place he would rather be. As per usual, four hours later, Steph came back into the room, removing the cannula and disconnecting the machines, ready for them to get themselves sorted to go home.

"You guy's go on ahead, I just want to hang back for a second. I'll meet you in the car" Kurt said to Burt and Blaine just as they were about to leave the room. They furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. Even Steph turned around from where she was working away at the sideboard at the back of the room.

"Kurt what - " Burt started.

"Dad it's okay. I Just want to talk to Steph about something - if that's okay?" Kurt quickly added as he turned to Steph.

"Of course it is" she said.

"Alright well, we'll be in the car whenever you're ready bud" Burt said before walking out of the room. Blaine lingered for a second, offering a small smile to Kurt, his heart swelling when Kurt mouthed a quick_ "love you" _back to him before following Burt in the direction of the exit.

"You okay sweetie?" Steph asked warmly.

"I don't know" Kurt replied sadly.

"Something on your mind? Something about, well, all of this?" Steph guessed and when her assumptions were confirmed by a nod from Kurt, she sat guided Kurt to sit in one chair as she took up another, ready to talk more comfortable.

"Go ahead" she prompted sweetly.

"I'm just worried about the results I guess" Kurt sighed. "Because then it's like, I'll have a definitive answer. And I guess I can't stop thinking about the chance of the answer being not the one I want." Steph nodded sympathetically.

"Well, you know we know nothing yet but there is something I do know - do you want to know what that is?" Steph smiled as Kurt raised an eyebrow. "It's that you are one of the bravest eighteen year olds I've ever met. You know, I rarely treat teenagers - "Kurt nodded sadly "- but I can tell you that you are one of the strongest patients I've ever had, teenager or not, and I know that someone as strong as you is going to make it through this, especially because you have such a loving support system behind you who you know are with you, every step of the way. And if it's not the answer that we're looking for, well then we find other solutions, and we will find one. We, and you can trust me on this, are going to do everything in our power possible to help you."

"I know, it's just, some days it's harder to accept than others. You must have seen so many people in your time of being a nurse; and how many of them do you just one day, never see again?" Steph's mouth slightly opened in agape. "Sometimes I just find myself thinking about all of the things I could miss, like my step mom, she's two months pregnant and it's when I think about things like that, that's when it gets hard. I met a boy here a few months ago, his name was Seth. He was younger than me but he was diagnosed with Leukaemia, just like me but his was terminal."

"Oh, I know who you're talking about" Steph said in realisation.

"Yeah, well we had a conversation and I remember looking at him and just being overwhelmed with how strong and brave he was, much more than me, but then at the same time, looking at him scared me because I couldn't help but think about how that could be me if things don't go right. And then it comes back to the results because, if it tells us that the Chemo isn't working and then no other treatments work, that could be a reality for me. It could become more real than it already is."

"Sweetie - " Steph sighed sweetly as she shuffled closer to Kurt " - You have to know that Seth, the poor boy, was much more worse off than you. His illness was much more intense and -"

"Wait, wait, wh-what do you mean by...was?" Kurt asked cautiously, afraid of the answer. Steph tilted her head, sighing softly, as if she really didn't want to say the words.

"Honey you said it yourself, that Seth was seriously ill and terminal." Kurt started to softly shake his head, the words _"no, no, don't say it" _running through his head. He had a strong feeling he knew what was coming. "Seth passed away a few weeks ago."

_There it was. Just like that. _

"Oh my god" Kurt whispered, his head dropping into his hands.

"His cancer was just, far too advanced for any treatment to be able to overcome it. But hey - " Steph said, grabbing Kurts hands away from his face and slipping her own into his, " - that does not mean for one second that your fate is going to be the same. Think about those two men out there waiting for you, think about your little baby brother or sister who's going to want to meet their fun big brother, think about Blaine and the life and future you two are going to build together, think about yourself and everything _you _want out of life, _that's _what you're fighting for. Think of your life as an ocean; you are so young Kurt that at the moment, you've only really paddled your toes in it but there's a whole ocean out there waiting for you to swim or sail, but it's out there, waiting for you to conquer. So remember, even if these results don't go our way, that's why you are not giving up, now or ever, because there's a life out there waiting for you to begin." It was no surprise to either of them that both of them had let tears slip from their eyes after Stephs motivational speech.

"You're the best nurse ever" Kurt whispered as the two of them laughed through their tears. Kurt smiled sadly at the woman who had become more to him than just a 'nurse'.

"You have a fire in you Kurt Hummel. Don't ever let it go out" Steph sniffed, shaking their entwined hands from side to side encouragingly.

The two shared a long, loving hug, Kurt uttering countless gracious 'thank you's' before walking out of the room to meet his dad and Blaine back in the car park. As he walked down the corridor, Kurt felt regenerated and a refound sense of determination after his conversation with Steph. The worry and fear would always be there but he was going to do this. He was going to do it for Seth, for his friends, for his family, for Blaine but most importantly, he was going to do this for himself.

* * *

><p>"What's your dream school?" Blaine suddenly asked Kurt one Wednesday afternoon. They were lying down together on their bed, facing each other, saying nothing and doing nothing but revelling in the knowledge that the other one was there. It had been just over two weeks since Kurts most recent chemotherapy session and the results from the tests still had yet to come through. They had no idea what that could possibly mean and each of them were growing more and more anxious everyday, the house falling silent every time the phone rang.<p>

"What?" Kurt queried.

"Well, I know you want to go into Fashion but I know you never really had the chance to think about where so, if you could go to any school to study, where would you go?"

"Are you having second thoughts about you not going back to school just yet?" Kurt challenged quietly, the two of them so close together their noses were almost touching. "Because you know, I would fully support you if you did decide you wanted to go - "

"Hey no" Blaine stopped him immediately, reaching for one of Kurts hands that rested in-between them and brought it up to the pillows, running his thumb over Kurts knuckles. "Of course I haven't changed my mind. I told you, you are my priority, now and always and there is nowhere I would rather be then right here." Kurt smiled softly, bringing his other hand up to cover Blaines over his other hand. "But I just mean for you, I mean, you graduated High School and a lot of your friends have gone off to school but, well, a different turn of events was thrust upon you."

"Life is unpredictable that way" Kurt quipped.

"Come on" Blaine nudged his knee gently off of Kurts. "Dream with me for a second."

"Parsons" Kurt whispered after a prolonged silence but Blaine smiled encouragingly at him. "Or Pratt. Somewhere like that."

"You should apply" Blaine encouraged but Kurt instantly shook his head.

"I'm not too sure about that" Kurt shrugged.

"Why not?" Blaine inquired.

"I don't know, I just - I mean, of course I want to go back to School and like I told you, I feel really good after my conversation with Steph, I truly do, but there is always the possibility of me not getting better.

I feel like maybe it would just probably be best for me to wait until I have the all clear before I even begin to think about applying to schools. You know, then that way, I know that I can really start my life with no cancer or no treatment sessions, nothing holding me back." Blaine nodded as he contemplated what his boyfriend had just told him. "Besides, there are probably thousands of Vera Wang's and Zac Posen's out there. In what crazy world would Parsons or Pratt accept little old Kurt Hummel from Lima, Ohio." Kurt joked.

"In the real world" Blaine replied in all seriousness. "Babe, 'fashion' might as well be your middle name." Kurt scoffed whole heartedly at Blaine. "Seriously! You dress like no one I have ever known. It's bold, it's imaginative, creative and it is always absolutely perfect and so _effortless_. You were _born _for this." Blaine emphasised. Kurt pursed his lips together, an action Blaine recognised which usually meant that Kurt was considering something. "Do you remember what you said to me that night in the hospital - the night you were diagnosed?"

"I said a lot of things that night" Kurt smiled sadly.

"You said that I had to hope" Blaine specified. "And you should too. I mean, I know we don't know - you know, we have no idea what is going to happen in the future and applying doesn't mean that you are committing to it nor does it mean you even have to go but, wouldn't it be nice to have something positive to look forward to for once?"

Kurt smiled at Blaine before leaning forward to connect their lips, moving them in a gentle dance they had done so many times. He slipped one of his hands from Blaines grasp to bring it up to Blaines cheek, holding the man he loved and admired closer for just a little while longer.

"I love you" Kurt proclaimed as they slowly pulled apart, noses still touching. "Thank you. I - "

"KURT! BLAINE!" The sheer volume of Burts voice calling them from downstairs instantly brought the two boys out of their moment, scrambling off of the bed and rushing downstairs to find out what all the commotion was about. As they rounded the stairs and walked into the front room, Burt was pacing in small circles, the house phone still in his hands. Kurt and Blaine both looked at each other. In their guts, they knew what this was about.

"Was that - " Kurt started.

"Doctor Rolstone" Burt nodded. "His exact words were_ "I'd like to see you all as soon as possible."_ We have an appointment for tomorrow at 9am."

And that was that. They all stood in silence as it started to sink in that by tomorrow, they would know and everything would change, for the better or the worse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Sooo?**

**So even though this chapter threw me a lot of the time, i really did enjoy writing it and i love Steph and Kurts conversation - that idea only came to me a couple of weeks ago and i literally was scrambling all these ideas on my phone so i didn't forget them! **

**So i just thought i'd let you guys know that we are kind of nearing the end of this (oh wow it even hurts to say :( ) Atm, im thinking theres most likely going to be around 2 to 3 more chapters and the epilogue and besides, the amout of time it takes me to write a chapter, it's still a while off but I just thought i'd get that out there now**

**Reviews**

**nomorecandles - Thank you babe:) Oh my gosh major congratulations to your sister! That's incredible!:)**

**Cold Kagome - Yay okay thenn:) and yeppp! Theres more to come with Blaine and his parents deffo!:)**

**RozarieCriss - Awwwh babe! Oh gosh i hate oversleeping! I overslept for work this week - bad times! Oh gosh i hope your Physio is going okayy:) **  
><strong>Awwh wow thank you so much - that means so much!:) <strong>  
><strong>And I think, that you solved the problem with Blaine's parents really good.<strong>  
><strong>You don't even know how happy that made me to read this, you calmed a lot of my worries so thank you! Ooooh no no, deffo no abuse, can't be dealing with that - theres too much sadness in this already!<strong>  
><strong>I'm in my first year at college and I wish that day would have more then 24 ours<strong>  
><strong>Yep, i know that feeling so, so well! <strong>  
><strong>It's crazy that i have been writing this for over a year! Well hey, the amount of time it takes me to get these out, it could well go on for another year! <strong>  
><strong>Oh gosh you probably went through like every single emotion then! I was just crying throughout the whole thing! <strong>  
><strong>Oh my gosh of course i don't mind a long review! They're my favourite kinds to read!:) Thank you for taking the time to write it:)<strong>

**Okay so I really doubt i'll be able to get a chapter up before Christmas sooo Merry Christmas guys! I truly hope you have amazing one's and I'm going to try my hardest to get a chapter up before the year is out but if i don't manage to post anything before the new year, Happy new year!:) **

**Until next time my lovelyys(L)xx**


	16. Chapter 15

**Authors Note - Okay, i honestly cannot even begin to tell you how sorry i am for how long its been! I did not want this to be up 3 months after my last update but i swear i didn't get back into a normal routine after Christmas until like mid January! Hope you all had good christmas's btw even though it was like, 3 months ago :$ LOL**

**I actually suck so much at updating but i honeslty cant thank you guys enough for sticking with me! I always expect to see the number of people following this drop majorly everytime i go to update and i'm always really surprised when i get emails of new people adding this to their alert or favourite lists so thank you so much:) **

**So i've been writing this for so long - like im not even joking, probably since January and I wanted to have it up so much sooner than this but finding my feet and settling back into writing took so long but I got there and I literally only just finished it at like 2:30am last night so im so happy to FINALLY be getting it out to you guys:) so yeah, here it is - enjoyy!:)**

**OMG on a majorly seperate note - How completely awesome were 'I Do' and Come What May - i might've died just a little watching both of them :D**

**ALSO, I had a brainwave Saturday night when I was writing this and I was able to add in the story title so thumbs up to you guys who notice it! :D**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee or any of the characters (I wish I owned Klaine though:( )**

* * *

><p><em>Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tick. Tock. Tock.<em>

The sound of the hands of the clock that hung on Doctor Rolstones office wall echoed loudly around the quiet room. It was so quiet that it was almost verging on being uncomfortably quiet. With there being a limited amount of chairs in the office, Kurt and Burt were practically forced into the two chairs in front of the desk by the rest of them. Blaine stood directly behind Kurt. Kurt had bent his right arm so that his hand could rest on his shoulder where it was currently entwined with Blaines own hand. Carole stood directly behind her husband with Finn standing beside her nearer the wall, her hands resting on Burts shoulders in an attempt to offer some form of comfort as she could see her husbands unease as he nervously tapped his fingers against his mouth. The sound of something heavy banging against the top of the file cabinet quickly brought everyone out of their dazes.

"Sorry" Finn sheepishly apologised to the room as he picked up the miniature model skeleton he had caused to fall down.

"Finn just - just try not to fiddle with anything else okay" Carole sighed, clearly unimpressed with her sons carelessness at such an obviously tense time, causing Finn to mouth another "sorry", his shoulders almost touching his cheeks as he sheepishly shrugged.

"God is this doctor ever going to get here" Burt sighed, clearly apprehensive as he shuffled in his seat.

"It's only a couple of minutes past 9 Dad" Kurt said quietly.

"Exactly! He should've been here by now!" It was clear to everyone in the room that Burt was getting more and more anxious as the minutes passed by. The seconds that passed were starting to feel like hours.

"He'll be here Burt. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason as to why he is running a little behind" Carole attempted to reason.

"It doesn't matter what time he gets here - the results won't change" Kurt sighed, running his free hand over his forehead before resting his elbow on the armrest. "So let's just wait."

"Hey Kurt - " Finn piped up. " - I just want to say on behalf of all of us, that no matter what happens today, we're all here for you."

Kurt managed to whisper a genuine 'Thank you' before as if on cue, the office door clicked open as Doctor Rolstone walked into the room, 3 lever arch folders in his hand with sporadic pieces of paper peeking out of each of them.

"Hello everyone. Sorry I'm running a little bit behind - " he said as he rounded the desk to stand in front of them, settling the folders down onto the desk. He shuffled off his coat before taking a seat in front of the five anxious, apprehensive faces. "I had to complete a handover of one of my patients who is going into surgery right this very second - it was supposed to be completed yesterday but there was a delay in the process which I won't bore you with. I didn't mean to keep you waiting so long - I completely appreciate how concerning a time like this can be."

"It's perfectly alright" Carole spoke up for the rest of them. Blaine noticed how Kurts leg started to shake more as he tapped his foot on the floor, anxiety slowly eating away at him. Blaine brushed his thumb over Kurts knuckles and smiled when Kurt slightly turned his head to look over his shoulder at him, offering him a smile in gratitude, a small one but it was a smile nonetheless.

"So Kurt, how have you been doing recently?" Doctor Rolstone asked.

"Okay I guess? But I guess you're going to be the one to tell me how I've really been doing" Kurt laughed nervously.

"Yes. Right well, I suppose we should get started then." Doctor Rolstone proceeded to flip through one of the three folders he had brought with him before Kurt could see he reached a section marked 'Hummel. K'. "Right well, obviously we all know why we're here today. You had your tests conducted a little over two weeks ago - " Kurt nodded along " - and since then, your results have been reviewed by both myself and our radiologist and, Kurt I'm so sorry - I wish I didn't have to tell you this and there really is no easy way of saying this but the results unfortunately have shown that the chemotherapy treatments haven't been successful and unfortunately, there has been an increase in the amount of cancer cells."

Kurt froze. His eyes widened and his body went completely rigid. He barely registered Caroles soft sob, Burts gasp or the tightened grip Blaine had on his hand. It was if everything in the world had stopped. His worst nightmare, in seconds, had now become a reality.

_" - can happen. Our bodies are forever changing and at a __vulnerable__ time like this - "_

Kurt knew that Doctor Rolstone was still speaking but he barely registered the words he was saying. Everything around him was a blur.

"Kurt?" Doctor Rolstone called. Kurt snapped his head upwards. "Are you okay? You understand what I've just said about your case still sitting at a stage two, which is a positive aspect but that if we don't act now, it could develop into a Stage 3, within the next few weeks I would predict." Kurt simply nodded.

"So I think now is an appropriate time to discuss different approaches to treatments. Now in my professional opinion, I really do think staying with Chemotherapy is a good choice but making it more frequent, so say once a week instead of once a month and adding courses of Radiotherapy into it. As you can imagine, it is much, much more intense but this approach had been extremely successful in reducing cancer cells in at least 78% of recorded cases and many patients going into remission and living long, happy, healthy lives. If you do decide to go with this method, what I would like to do is book you in for another check up quicker than usual so we can again, see how it is or isn't progressing and if things still haven't progressed, It might be a good idea to consider a Stem Cell transplant which would require us to find a donor, someone with your blood type which can then help to rebuild your blood cells and immune system but I really don't want to introduce that option just yet. That's really something I would use as one of our last options and I really don't think we're at that stage yet."

"What about in your personal opinion?" Kurt asked after a few moments of silence.

"Pardon?" Doctor Rolstone said.

"You said that was all in your professional opinion. Just pretend you're not a Doctor for a minute and human to human, tell me your honest, personal opinion"

Doctor Rolstone sighed. He folded his lips together as if he was really hesitant in saying what he wanted to say. "Okay. Being completely honest, I would still tell you that an increased Chemo plan with radiotherapy added into the mixture is a good idea. But, I've already told you that it's much more intense but, it is really, really intense. Kurt, I've seen adults twice your age find it difficult, almost unbearable to deal with. I've heard and seen things from them that have almost broke my heart, but nearly every single time, that short lived pain has almost always saved their lives."

Kurt nodded as he considered what Doctor Rolstone had just told him. He appreciated his brutal honesty as that was what he needed to help him make his decision.

"Let's do it then" Kurt concluded.

"Kurt - " Blaine started, worry laced in his voice.

"Kurt, buddy this sounds - "

"Like my best option" Kurt definitively said. He turned in his chair to face his family, still clutching Blaines hand. "Look, nobody ever said this was going to be easy. Nobody ever said to me "Hey, you have cancer but it's okay! It's an absolute walk in the park. Just sit tight and it will all be fine!" I have to fight this" Kurt said, the determination clear in his voice. "Believe me, if there was a pill I could take to make all of this go away, I would - in an _instant_. But there isn't. I have to fight this the long and painful way but I _want _to do everything possible to give me that chance of beating this. And plus, how much worse can a little more pain be than what I've already been through."

"Can you just tell us a little more about it please?" Burt asked, turning back in his chair to face Doctor Rolstone.

"Well Radiotherapy itself is pretty painless to have. Normally what would happen is that we would mark the area on your skin where the cancer cells or tumour is with a type of ink so that the same area can be treated each time. However with you having Leukaemia and that being the cancer of the blood, meaning that the cancer cells are spread across your body, you would have a type of radiotherapy treatment where your whole body will be hit with the rays to give all of the cancer cells a chance at being destroyed. Now some of your normal cells will be destroyed in the process too but the difference is that they will recover whereas the cancer cells will ultimately die."

"When can I start it?" Kurt asked Doctor Rolstone as he turned back in his chair to face his doctor.

"Well I've already calculated how many sessions you will need before I would like to see you at the beginning of December for a check up so that's just under two months from now but you will need 8 sessions of Chemoradiotherapy. I've freed up some room so we could start a course today if you wanted to" Doctor Rolstone replied. "Would you like to start the process today?" Kurt firmly nodded.

"Lets go for it."

* * *

><p>26 hours.<p>

At this present moment, Kurt was resting at home, Blaines arm wrapped around his shoulders as Kurt was tucked into his side, fast asleep, his head laying against his chest. But 26 hours ago, Kurt had just come home from his first course of Chemoradiotherapy. It wasn't much different to Kurt's normal Chemotherapy sessions - he still had the Chemotherapy like normal, through a canula that went through the back of his hand whilst the clear liquid travelled through his system for the next four hours however it all started very differently. Carole decided that it was probably best for her and Finn to leave as they didn't want to crowd Kurt too much. They wished him the best of luck and reassured him that they would see him at home later on that night. Before they could start the Radiotherapy, Kurt had to sign a consent form, agreeing to the process but that was quickly signed, sealed, delivered and they soon after got started. There was a bed like stand in the room, a simple pillow at the top of it with a white sheet running down the middle of it. However, the thing that caught everyones attention (aside from Doctor Rolstone and the two nurses accompanying them) as soon as they walked in was the huge, white machine behind it. It was bulky and quite literally reached the ceiling. A part of it extended outwards, the end of it being in a circular shape. Doctor Rolstone told them that this machine was infact called a Linear Accelerator and the part that extended out was where the rays were beamed out from. As soon as Kurt was settled onto the bed, everyone else had to leave the room so that when the process actually begun, they were not at risk of being exposed to the radioactivity within the room. The process itself was very quick and simple and lasted a mere 15 minutes; all Kurt had to do was lay there as the rays beamed all over his body. He knew it wasn't this easy though - he knew he would pay the price later on. As soon as that was finished, they moved onto the Chemotherapy side of the treatment which after a long, monotonous four hours, was soon done and dusted, where they were free to go home after a long, long day.

26 hours had passed since those events.

Before they had left the hospital, Doctor Rolstone had told them of what to expect now that the treatment plan had changed.

_"Now the first 24 hours are very likely to be pretty similar to how you've been feeling after just __receiving__ the Chemotherapy. You'll feel tired, __nauseous__ and possibly a loss of appetite but I have to warn you, those symptoms, __especially__ the nausea side of it are likely to get worse. It should pass within a few hours or so but the combination of the __treatments__ will be having a much more intense impact on your body, especially the first time so it is important you take the tablets you were prescribed at the beginning of your __treatments__ to help with the pain and to keep yourself hydrated. if anything feels out of the ordinary, do not hesitate to call the hospital."_

With Kurt safe in his arms and Doctor Rolstones words echoing in his thoughts, Blaine knew it was only a matter of time before the worst wave of the effects came. Kurt had been sick twice since he had been home but that was nothing unusual and nothing that wasn't easily handled as it had more or less become routine for them but they both knew the worst of it was to come and now that the advised 24 hours had passed, it felt like a bomb waiting to drop. The worst of it was to come and it was only a matter of time - hours, maybe even minutes before it did.

Just over an hour and a half had passed since Blaine last looked up from his book to look at the time. It had now been 27 hours and 35 minutes - not that Blaine was clock watching or anything. Kurt was still fast asleep, his light breathing blowing against his top. He leant down, kissing the top of Kurts head as his fingers lightly skimmed through his hair. His hair was a little thinner nowadays and that always broke Blaines heart a little as he knew how much pride Kurt took in his hair but hair or no hair, Kurt would always be beautiful to Blaine. It pained him to think about Kurt being in pain but while he was asleep, nothing could hurt him. But that feeling of serenity didn't last long at all as all of a sudden, Blaine started to feel Kurts body softly shudder in his grasp. His eyes shot open, his eyes making him look like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hey" Blaine cooed but Kurt shook his head. Was this it? Something was wrong.

"Blaine. Bathroom" Kurt managed to rasp out before shuffling out from Blaines side, his legs quickly swinging over the side of the bed before running to the bathroom, Blaine quickly following behind. Blaine just about reached the doorway of their en suite bathroom before he heard the sounds of Kurt heaving relentlessly into the toilet. Blaine didn't even think twice before sinking to his knees next to his boyfriend, rubbing soothing circles into Kurts back as Kurt could do nothing but surrender his body to the process. His head was bowed deep into the bowl as upchuck after upchuck, vomit heaved its way out of his mouth. His body was physically shaking and there was nothing he could do but sit there and let it happen. A good five minutes passed before Kurts body finally found a moment of peace. He lifted his head from the toilet basin and perched his burning forehead on his arm that was swung across the toilet seat.

"That was horrible" Kurt groaned out as he tried to pace his breathing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a familiar hand offering a small glass of water.

"Here. Try to drink some of this" Blaine whispered.

Kurt groaned in discomfort as he slightly lifted his head up off of his arm but even a simple movement as that Kurt suddenly found too tiresome. Instead he rested his head back against his arm but tilted it to the side before gratefully accepting the glass of water. He didn't even manage to swallow 3 mouthfuls before his face disappeared back into the basin as he heaved into the basin harder than ever before, the sound of vomiting echoing around the room. Before his body promptly succumbed once again, the tiniest of intervals allowed for Kurt to omit an utterly heart and gut wrenching sob that almost tore Blaines heart in two right there and then. He had never heard someone in that much agony before. _Ever_. It sounded worse than as if someone had just broken all of the bones in their body and to know that it was coming from Kurt, the person he wanted to protect from harm more than anything, was nothing short of torture. Blaine cooed, shushed and whispered sweet nothings in Kurts ear as Kurt unrelentingly continued to vomit, sobbing as his body shuddered underneath Blaines gasp.

"We heard crying - is everything okay?" Carole asked, concern laced in her voice as she and Burt came rushing to the doorway.

"Make it STOP!" Kurt wailed loudly as he raised his head before dropping it again, vomit spewing from his mouth. Carole too dropped to her knees, Blaine perched one side of Kurt and Carole on the other. She brushed the hair from his burning face as Blaine continued to rub a random pattern of soothing motions into Kurts back.

Burt stood in the doorway, almost frozen. Of course in Kurt's eighteen years of life and especially in the past five months, Burt had seen his son be sick but this was something else. This sight was much, much worse than anything else - something he couldn't quite describe. Burt knew that this was all part of the process; that this was the bodys way of reacting and beginning to recover but not only seeing, but hearing his son in nothing short of complete _agony _and knowing there was nothing he could do about it was killing Burt with every passing second he stood in the doorway, hearing the sobs escape from Kurt. As he turned his attention away from his son, for a split second, he saw Blaine wipe his free hand underneath his eyes before going back to comforting Kurt.

"Oh my god" Kurt whimpered as he rested his head on his arm that was swung over the seat. Kurt was exhausted. Physically exhausted. His breathing was heavy and audible throughout the silent room as his body heaved up and down. His eyes were clasped tightly shut as he tried to regain himself.

_When had this nightmare become their life._

* * *

><p>The afternoon had been had gone, the sun had set and evening had come. Burt and Carole were curled up together on the sofa, Carole curled into her husbands side as one of Burts arms extended across the top of the sofa, each of them clutching a cup of tea.<p>

"Today was horrible" Carole said as she pondered over the days earlier events.

"I know" Burt softly agreed.

"You know, even in all of my years as a nurse, I mean I've seen it before but, it is so rare that I've seen someone be as in as much pain when vomiting as Kurt was today. Poor darling. I can't imagine what he must have been feeling." She softly added. Burt stayed silent. As Carole tilted her gaze upwards, the first thing she noticed was the solemn look on her husbands face, and how his gaze was transfixed but on nothing interesting.

"You okay?" She softly asked. She felt Burts body move up and down against her as he shrugged his shoulders. She brought the arm the was resting along the top of the sofa to enclose around her, stroking Burts arm in comfort. "It's going to be alright. This family is going to be alright."

"God I hope so Carole" Burt exhaled, softly shaking his head.

"It will" she assured. "Burt Hummel, if there is one thing you're not, it's a quitter. Don't start on me now. It's - hey sweetie" she said as Blaine suddenly rounded the stairs. His shoulders were slumped and he looked exhausted. Carole had a feeling that was a result of being emotionally exhausted rather than physical exhaustion.

"Hey guys" Blaine replied softly. "Would you - could you just keep an eye on Kurt for me for a while? He's asleep right now and he's had his dose of painkillers so he should be okay and - "

"Don't be silly, of course we can honey. You going anywhere special?" Carole asked.

Blaine shrugged his shoulders as he shook his head, his hands buried deep in his jacket pocket. "I just - it's been a long day you know, I just, kind of want to get some air."

"Take as much time as you need sweetie" Carole smiled. She understood exactly what Blaine needed right now.

"Thank you. Can you - just, call me, if anything - "

"We will" Carole quickly assured him as he struggled to find the words. With a small, quick wave, Blaine was out of the door. The sound of his ignition turning was just audible in the Hummel Hudson house.

"Poor kid looks exhausted" Burt stated.

"Are you surprised? He's done so much for Kurt and been there for him in more ways than possible - he's by his side, day and night. He's dealing with a lot more than most nineteen year olds have to deal with at that age and he's done it with such strength and dignity that - "

"- that everyone needs to fall apart at some point" Burt finished thoughtfully.

"Yeah" Carole agreed. "Exactly."

* * *

><p>It had been a long, long time since Blaine had stood in front of this door and yet still, it was still so familiar. He rung the doorbell and waited for someone, <em>anyone, <em>to answer the door. Within seconds, he could still pick out the tiniest dent in the door. No one would ever be able to notice it but Blaine always recognised it as a reminder of the day he and Cooper had created it when playing outside one summers day; their parents never noticed it and so they never told them about it. The sound of the door being unlocked and opened brought him back from his short trip to memory lane.

"Blaine" Isabelle exclaimed, surprised but equally ecstatic to see her son. "Sweetheart it's late, what are you doing here?"

Blaines mouth quivered and tears began to pool in his eyes.

"Blaine?" Isabelle's tone completely changed as she could now tell something was wrong.

"Mum - " Blaine gasped out before completely breaking down and falling forward into his mothers body. Isabelle was startled at the sudden turn of events but instantly went into mother mode, wrapping her arms around her son and guiding him inside the warm house and out of the cold rain, whispering sweet nothings and 'shushing him in an attempt to calm her son down. By the time they reached the living room and Isabelle guided them towards the large, brown leather sofa, Blaine had gone way beyond the point of simply crying - he was _hysterical_. His breathing was erratic and his body shook uncontrollably in her arms as floods of tears streamed relentlessly down his red, blotchy face.

"It's okay" Isabelle whispered as she cradled her son in her arms. Clearly things were far from okay but as a mother, it was her first instinct to reassure her son that everything would be okay. Blaine however just furiously shook his head from side to side.

"Is it Kurt?" Isabelle asked gently. Blaine affirmed this by nodding his head, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as he tried to regulate his breathing.

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything. We'll just sit here for as long as you want and as long as you need okay" Isabelle said.

It took at least half an hour before the crying completely subsided and Isabelle just held Blaine the whole time, never once unwrapping her arms from around him. It had been a long time since she had seen her son this distraught over something and it absolutely tore her heart in two.

"Where's dad?" Blaine asked quietly, still sniffling softly.

"He had that meeting in New York didn't he, but his flight was delayed so he is not due back till tomorrow morning." Blaine nodded against her side. He pulled himself up out of Isabelles grasp to sit upright next to her.

"It got worse" Blaine whispered, his head bowed as his gaze was fixed on the laminated flooring beneath him. Isabelle tilted her head in confusion but quickly caught on as to what it was that could have got worse.

"Kurts cancer?" She asked and Blaine nodded. Isabelle sighed and shook her head. "I wondered if something was wrong when you didn't call yesterday but I thought, if it was bad news, than it was better for us to wait for you to tell us instead of badgering you for answers at clearly what would not have been an appropriate time." Blaine nodded in understanding.

"The Doctor said that there's been an increase in the amount of cancerous cells in his body so they recommended him to start chemoradiotherapy but if this doesn't work in time, it could go up to a stage three." Blaine turned his body to the side and brought his feet up to sit cross legged on the sofa, facing Isabelle. "You're an oncologist mum - surely a lot of your patients would have recovered from this. Please tell me that this is going to work. Tell me that everything is going to be okay. Just, please."

"Blaine - " Isabelle started. The look on her sons face, almost as if he was pleading with her, was nothing short of heartbreaking.

" - Because I can't lose him mum" Blaine carried on. "I can't do it. I just - I - I can't. I don't know what I would do if - " Blaines voice started to break as he rambled almost uncontrollably. He turned his head to the side as he clasped his eyelids together to stop the tears that had pooled in his eyes from falling.

"Blaine, honey - " Isabelle paused in her speech to reach for her sons hands, clasping both of them in her own, tears pooling in her own eyes too. " - It's going to be okay. Kurt's going to be okay. You have to hold on to that" she pleaded.

"You didn't see him today mum. It was - " Blaine broke off. "I'm so scared" he confessed quietly.

"I know honey" Isabelle nodded. "And that's completely natural. But otherwise, Kurt's a healthy boy - he'll - "

"Then why did this happen to him?" Blaine almost scoffed but Isabelle was completely unfazed. She understood how much her son must be hurting and this was the first time since Kurts diagnosis she really saw how much this was all affecting him. This was the first time she truly got to act like a mother and comfort him during this whole ordeal.

"It's okay to be angry sweetheart. It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be feeling these things. But all we can do is just hope and pray for the best. And while you're doing that, you can carry on being there for Kurt because you know, he's probably just as angry and scared as you are. He needs you just as much as you need him" Isabelle smiled at her son as he looked up at her. Suddenly her arms were filled with a heavy weight as Blaine fell into them once again. She wrapped her arms around him and as he whispered out loud his gratitude, she tightened her grasp and kissed the top of his head. It felt good to be able to provide her son with some comfort again, however much or little it helped him - it felt good to be a mum to him again.

* * *

><p>It had only just gone 10pm when Blaine returned home, feeling a lot lighter than he had done earlier on. It wasn't exactly late but he was still cautious to be quiet in his movements as he walked up the stairs and across the landing as he knew Burt and Carole would most likely be asleep by now as Carole was on an early shift and Burt was due to open the shop at 7am.<p>

"And where did you go gallivanting off to?" a teasing voice asked Blaine as he quietly slipped back into his and Kurts shared bedroom.

"I thought you would be asleep" Blaine said, a little surprised to see Kurt sitting upright in their bed, the bedside lamp beside him on, filling the room with an intimate light. "You were asleep when I left."

"I woke up" Kurt quipped, a smile playing on his lips. "You have full permission to call me clingy or silly but when I realised you weren't here, I don't know, I kind of just couldn't really get back to sleep" Kurt shrugged as Blaine started to cross the room from where he was still standing in the doorway. "Dad and Carole said you went out and, well I just needed to know you were okay."

Blaine gently cupped Kurts cheek in his hand softly pressing his lips to Kurts, hoping that everything he wanted to say in that moment, that he loved Kurt more than anything, that he was so thankful for him, was being poured into this one kiss. As they pulled away, the smiles on both of their faces didn't go unnoticed by the other. Blaine climbed into his side of the bed and he and Kurt lay on their sides, their heads nestled deep into their pillows. They were so close they were almost nose to nose with the other, their arms around each others waists, bringing them even closer together.

"I went to my parents" Blaine hushed out eventually. "Well it was only Mum there but - " Blaine trailed off but Kurt just simply nodded. He had a strong feeling he already understood why.

"I'm sorry if I scared you today" Kurt whispered. Blaines grasp on Kurts waist tightened just that little bit more, his thumb stroking over the patch of bare skin from where Kurts shirt had ridden upwards a little more.

"Hey no. Don't. Don't apologise for that. _Ever_." Blaine emphasised. "I'm sorry if _I _worried _you _by going out, I just - I needed a little space I guess."

"Well if I'm not allowed to apologise than neither are you" Kurt quipped. "You have nothing to be sorry about okay? To be honest, I was kind of preparing for some form of breakdown from you months ago. You've been so strong and supportive and composed and just beyond amazing these last few months, but everyone needs to break down at some point. There's nothing like a good cry to get things off your chest a little" Kurt smiled. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice lowered and sounding more concerned than he already did. Blaine simply nodded, a small reassuring smile playing at his lips but Kurt saw through it. When he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend, Blaine reluctantly changed his nod to a shrug, the small smile that was already barely there was now completely gone.

"You don't ever have to hide what you're feeling about any of this from me" Kurt assured softly.

"It's not that I was hiding" Blaine contemplated. Kurt simply narrowed his eyes at him. "Okay I guess, maybe, in a way, I kind of was. But it was only because I didn't want to worry you. You have enough to think about and I - I just needed a little time."

"Well I _want _to worry about you" Kurt smiled, nudging Blaines shoulder with his. "Seriously, we're in this together right? Whatever I feel, you feel and whatever you feel, I feel. You know, I know I'm the one with the cancer but this is having an effect on both of us, on _all _of us, but it's like, as long as we're together, we'll make it through."

"I love you so much" Blaine whispered, once again, completely in awe of his boyfriend. Kurt leant forwards, meeting Blaine in the middle for a soft kiss.

"Love you too" Kurt replied as he pulled away, settling back down onto his pillow. "While you were out I was thinking - "

"What about?" Blaine asked.

"Do you remember when you suggested making that video tape after Carole told us all she was pregnant. You know, for the baby?" Blaine nodded. "Well, I really want to do it now." Blaine eyebrows raised in acknowledgement. "I mean like, I already wanted to but yesterday really reminded me that the future isn't set in stone and anything could happen at any time. So would you be the best boyfriend to ever exist and help me with it please" Kurt asked, the biggest smile he could muster, teeth and all, spread across his face. How could Blaine refuse when Kurt looked as cute as that.

"I'd love to" Blaine replied simply.

"Yay" Kurt squealed. "Thank you. Okay I need a drink and I'm also feeling kind of hungry so - "

"It's okay, I'll go" Blaine insisted. "Orange squash and a sandwich okay?"

"Lifesaver" Kurt sighed happily. "As long as it's a - "

"Cheese and Ham one with not too much butter in it?" Blaine finished for him. As Kurt smiled and ducked his head, he knew he had his order correct. Blaine had just turned out of the doorway before he heard a "hey" coming from their bedroom.

"I love you" Kurt smiled as Blaine peered his head back round the doorway.

"Right back at you"

* * *

><p>The sound of water running from the kitchen tap was unmistakable as Blaine reached the bottom of the stairs. As he rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen, he found Burt, dressed in his navy blue dressing gown covering his plaid pyjama bottoms and white night top, standing at the sink with a glass underneath the running faucet.<p>

"Oh, hey bud" Burt acknowledged as he realised he was not the only person in the kitchen anymore.

"Hey. Can't sleep or something?" Blaine asked casually as he nodded towards the glass in Burts hand.

"Ah, just woke up with a bit of a cough" Burt waved it off as if it was nothing.

"I see" Blaine nodded in acknowledgement. He started to make his way around the kitchen, grabbing the various items he needed: retrieving the various items from the fridge, taking the bread from out of the bread bin and grabbing a knife from the cutlery drawer. As he started to lay everything out in front of him on the chopping board, Burt was still leaning firmly against the sink.

"You know you scared me a little earlier on kiddo" Burt started, swiftly breaking the comfortable silence between the two of them. Blaine looked directly at Burt, his hands instantly stopped their motions. "I know sometimes I can be a little dense, but I'm not blind. You looked exhausted, like, emotionally exhausted and forgive me if I'm off the mark here but, it looked as though as you were about to cry at any point" Burt said with nothing but genuine concern laced in his words. Blaine bowed his head, pursing his lips together.

"I'm sorry" Blaine sighed as he raised his head. "The last thing I wanted to do was worry you."

"Did it all get a bit too much earlier on?" Burt assumed to which Blaine nodded.

"It's weird though because, I knew. I knew it was going to have more of an intense effect on him and it's not the first time I've watched that happened and - I - "

"Blaine, it doesn't matter what you know or what you were warned or what happened in the past; You feel whatever you feel, whenever you do - there's no designated time period. I erm, I saw the tears, earlier on, when Kurt was being sick." Blaine opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out.  
>"You know - " Burt moved to slide into one of the stools at the breakfast bar, patting the stool next to him for Blaine to sit on. " - Sometimes I forget that you're only 19 because, it's not even that you act it, you just <em>are <em>more mature than your years. You're an old soul" Burt smiled. "You know most 19 years olds out there are at school or working, testing their alcohol limits -" Burt joked which elicited a soft chuckle from Blaine. " - You're dealing with something bigger than all of that, something most 19 years olds won't have to at their age -" Burt said, echoing his wife's words of wisdom from earlier on that evening. " - And you've handled it with such composure and dignity. You know, there's been many nights since this all started where even just thinking about it has had me crying myself to sleep. And that's okay. What I'm trying to say is that, it's okay to break down at times and just know that if you ever feel like that, you can always come to us. I completely understand that sometimes it's easier to talk to someone outside of the direct situation but I just hope you know that, you never have to hide anything that you're feeling from us. You never have to worry about worrying us. You're family and family sticks together. Especially through the tough times."

Blaine was speechless. Utterly speechless. As he threw his arms around the man who was basically his father in law, he hoped that everything he wanted to say but couldn't and all the gratitude he felt for having this man in his life was exuded in this one hug. However Blaine still uttered a simple "thank you", Burt patting his back in reply.

"I'll see you in the morning okay" Burt said as slid off of the stool, patting Blaines shoulder before leaving him sitting alone in the kitchen. He knew Kurt and Burt were both right. Things would always be tough but as long as they all had each other, it would be okay.

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><p><strong>AN - Who noticed the title then? ;)**

**I really hope you guys enjoyed the interaction between Blaine and his mum - i love writing them rebuilding their relationship:) And the interaction between Kurt/Blaine and Burt/Blaine **

**This chapter was supposed to include Kurt recording the video for his baby brother/sister but I knew that was going to take me a while and this chapter is already over 6,000 as it is (not to mention the fact that I felt so guilty about this taking so long that I really wanted to get this chapter out to you guys as soon as possible) so expect it in the opening of the next chapter, for sure!**

**Replies**  
><strong><em>Cold Kagome<em> - Thanks!:)**

**_Cody 3_ - Oh wow i remember reading your review when I was on my break at Work and it made me smile so much, it still does!:) I can't believe you read the whole thing in 3 and a half hours:) **  
><strong><em>Your a great writer! I cannot wait for the next part! &amp; you capture the emotions and relationships perfectly! Especially between Blaine &amp; Kurt - Blaine,Kurt &amp; Burt :3<em>**  
><strong>I just have the stupidest smile on my face and i have nothing to say but thank you so much! That means so much to me:) I hope the interaction between them in this chapter didn't disappoint you:)<strong>

**_nomorecandles_ - Im so sorry babe im sure you've probably got your results back from your Citizenship (wow i hated citizenship at School -.-) and R.S GCSE's by now - how did they go!? If not, I'm sure you done amazingly!**  
><strong>Ahaa all was reveled in this chapter ;) don't worry though - still got a while to go!:)<strong>

**_gablaar -_ **  
><strong><em>This keeps breaking my heart and making me fall in love all at the same time.<em>**  
><strong>I think thats actually one of the best compliments i could ever recieve about this. I'm so glad you're enjoying it and I can't wait to hear your opinions on where it's gonna go:)<strong>

**Until next time my lovelyys:) - and it won't be 3 months i promise!(L)xx**


	17. Chapter 16

**Authors Note - Hi guys! I am so so sorry for how long this has taken me but I actually have a valid reason :L As one of my readers already knows, two weeks after publishing the last chapter, I went to Costa Rica on the 31st March and spent the whole of April out there on a volunteering project (which was completely amazing - everyone go to Costa Rica, its beautiful!) and I didn't get home until the end of April/beginning of May! I tried to write some while I was out there and I did but my days were so hectic and busy in the best possible way that I really just didnt get to finish it at all so I've basically been writing this ever since I got home and I literally just finished it last night and finished the spell check, edits etc just now! I've been working back to back shifts this whole week where I havent finished work until 9pm and I've only just got home from another one now which is why im posting this now because i finished early today! **

**also just a funny note, I was up so late writing this last tuesday that I overslept for my Wednesday shift by half an hour - whoops! **

**okay so i'm not even surprised this chapter took me so long because it is a whopping 20 pages long in Word and 10,629 words long! I couldnt even believe it when i checked it after doing the spell check! But again, im not surprised because this chapters got so much going on! we have Kurts video to his brother/sister, a birthday and Kurts mum! **

**As always, thank you to everyone who alerts, favourites, reviews this story - you guys make my life!:)**

**okay go, enjoyy! (I hope)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Glee, any of the characters or names of places (Pops) in this**

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><p>"You're sure you still want to do this?" Blaine asked from his crouched position on the floor of their bedroom, for what feels to Kurt like the fiftieth time that day. He was currently in the process of setting up the tripod and camera in position. Around two weeks had passed since Kurt had received the result he didn't want and his reasons for recording the video were reignited.<p>

"I'm sure" Kurt assured from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Thank you again for helping with - " he gestured towards the camera. " - You know, setting it all up and everything."

"Anytime" Blaine said almost through gritted teeth, his eyebrows creased as he tried to figure out how exactly to fit the camera onto the tripod which wasn't as simple as it should have been. "What the - " Kurt heard Blaine exclaim after a prolonged silence which was then followed by a lot of turning the camera in every angle and direction on top of the tripod and lifting the camera above his head, trying to see how exactly it would lock into place.

"Ah ha! Gotcha!" Kurt chuckled at the beaming smile his boyfriend had on his face as the camera finally clicked into position, locked securely on top of the tripod, all ready to go.

"What do I say?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Just speak from the heart" Blaine said as he perched on the edge of the bed next to Kurt. "Just say - say everything you would want to say to them and everything you want them to hear. I'm sure you could be reading the news and they would love it because it's you" Blaine joked, attempting to lighten the solemn mood that filled the room.

"Not the point of this" Kurt smiled. "But I appreciate the compliment."

"Just be you" Blaine smiled as he nudged Kurts side. "You wanted this to be from you to your baby brother or sister right?" Kurt knew it wasn't a question - Blaine was stating a fact and so he nodded, not quite sure as to where Blaine was going with this. "Well exactly. It's not a show or a performance - you don't have to pretend to be someone else, it doesn't have to be perfect, saying all these rehearsed lines - just say whatever comes to you, while being _you_. Just be their brother. That's more than enough."

Kurt smiled softly and nodded. "I'm just nervous I guess."

Blaine nodded in understanding. He leaned over, softly kissing Kurts forehead. "Take as much time as you need." Kurt smiled at him.

"I think I'm ready - I mean, I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay" Blaine whispered. "Well - " he started as he rose from the bed. " - Whenever you feel you really are ready, you just need to press the record button right here" Blaine said as he pointed to the red circular button next to a dial at the top of the device. "I'll just be right outside the door if you need anything." Blaine leant down and softly kissed Kurts forehead once again, his fingers slipping though the strands of Kurts hair as he cradled the back of his head whilst his lips lingered against Kurts skin. As he turned to leave, he felt a tightened pressure around his wrist as Kurt suddenly turned him back towards him, Kurts hand slipping around Blaines neck, bringing him closer down to his level as he connected their lips.

"I love you" Kurt whispered into the small distance between them as their leant their foreheads together, sharing the small amount of air between them.

"You too. It's going to be fine. You're going to be great" Blaine assured confidently. He smiled brightly at Kurt before walking out of the door, closing it gently behind him.

Alone.

Kurt was all alone. Just him and the camera right in front of him. He felt as though it was staring into his soul of something which he knew was completely impossible seeing as it was an materialistic, emotionless object but it just sat right in front of him, as if it was saying "I'm waiting" to him.

_"You can do this"_ Kurt thought to himself as he exhaled deeply. _"It's going to be fine. Oh god what if I don't say the right things? What if I don't live up to their expectations? What if everyone tells all these stories about me and then they watch this and I'm nothing like they imagine?" _Suddenly, despite all of his worries, four words Blaine had left him with came ringing in his mind.

_"Just be __their__ brother."_

At the end of the day, that was all he could be; he could only be himself and so with that, he took one final deep breath, leaned up from the edge of the bed and pressed the 'record' button.

"Hi" Kurt started. It was as good a place to start as any. "So, I'm not really sure how to really start this kind of thing but, well I'm sure you know by now and I'm sure you would have been shown pictures of me - I hope they were good ones for both of our sakes" he joked, "but, I'm Kurt. I'm your big brother" he said with a teary smile. "So, the date today is the 25th of October 2012 and well, the long and short of it all is that I have leukaemia. I'm sure you've probably been told all of this and everything that happened but I'd like you to hear it from me too. So, basically I have a form of Leukaemia called Acute Leukaemia and as of right now, it's sitting at a stage two but that could change at any time to be honest but a stage two is good, I mean, the whole having cancer thing isn't great in the first place but a stage two is not as aggressive as being at a stage three or four. My doctors are still optimistic and I've been going through Chemo sessions since the beginning of June so around five, nearing six months now but more recently, I've started courses of chemoradiotherapy. I've actually got my fourth round tomorrow so it's kind of nice because I'll officially be at the halfway point. My doctors want me to do eight rounds in total and then they'll do some more tests to see if it's worked or not. Hopefully it will though and I'll be NEC but, well, we'll see. So you know, maybe you'll never see this. Maybe this will just be something that will live to be a memory in my mind and will never see the light of day again and I'll be able to really be a big brother to you but if you are watching this, well, you know how the story ended then... Just know that, I'm sorry and I fought as long and as hard as I could. Cancers a stubborn bitch!" he laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. "I really do wish I could have met you though" he confessed sadly.

"When I was younger and being an only child for 16 years, I always wanted a little brother or sister. So, as your big brother and as my brotherly duty to you, what advice can I give to you from my personal life experiences these past eighteen years." Kurt clicked his tongue over and over as he pondered over what he could say, things that he hoped would be helpful to his sibling in the many years to come. The years he wouldn't be around to tell them himself in person.

"Okay well firstly, I'm sure you are well aware by now that you have two of the best people on the planet as your parents. My mum died when I was 12 and I may or may not have set Dad and Carole up for my benefit as well as their own but honestly, it was one of the best things I've ever done because not only did she bring a smile back to dads face, she became a mother to me. She's just, she's like a ray of sunshine. She has done so much for this family by just being herself. You know, I hear and i'm sure you will too, some of my friends say they had this argument with their mum the night before because she wouldn't let them do this or buy that or the other but with Carole, she's one of those mums that's not afraid of being your mum but she's also like one of your best friends. She's always there, waiting with a cup of tea when you're having a bad day or a hug and a shoulder to cry on when you're having an even worse one. She's just amazing. Carole is amazing. And Dad? Well dad is one half of the two most important people in my life. I know at times, some more than others, you might feel like he's being the most embarrassing person, especially when the camera comes out for every milestone in your life, cause it will, but actually, Carole's just as guilty too or every time you find him interfering or something, just know that he only has your best interests at heart. believe me, when I first started dating Blaine, for our first date, Blaine came round to the house to pick me up - we ended up being late for our dinner reservations by twenty minutes because dad had Blaine holed up in the front room, throwing every question under the sun at him and eventually, Carole made up some excuse and literally had to drag him away just so that we could leave! It's funny looking back on it and even though Blaine was amazing and so understanding about it, I literally wanted the ground to swallow me up! I just kept thinking "Oh my god, Dad's probably scared off my new boyfriend" but you realise that, it's only because he cares about you so much. So when the time comes and you have your first boyfriend or girlfriend and that happens because i'm sure it will at some point and you will most likely want the ground to swallow you up too, just try to remember it's because he cares. My point that I'm trying to make with this is that no matter how annoying you might find Dad and Carole at times and feel like screaming at them, just always appreciate them" Kurt smiled.

"And Finn? Well, we kind of got off to a...somewhat questionable start - " Kurt chuckled lightly, " - But now, well Finn is an amazing brother. He is always there for you with whatever you need and he'll be an amazing brother to you too. That I'm so sure of." His voice broke ever so slightly at that last sentence.

"And finally, you see how I told you that Dad was one half of the two most important people in my life, well, if you don't already know or haven't figured it out yet, the other person is Blaine. I know that right now, he is so excited to meet you too and I have no doubts that Blaine is a part of your life because even if we never got to the altar in time to make it official, he is family." Kurt paused for a second, turning his head away from the camera before continuing. "I would have married Blaine you know. I _still _want to, more than anything and maybe - _hopefully _one day soon, we can make that a reality. But I'm sure that one day, he'll tell you everything you could ever want to know about me and story after story about our time together. Maybe he'll tell you things I wish he hadn't and I can haunt him from the grave for" Kurt laughed.

"But Blaine brings me something I want to talk to you about and that's love. Not the kind of love you have for your family and friends, but the love you'll one day share with another person. You know, they'll maybe come a day where you just want someone close to you to offer you some advice but not necessarily your friends and not always mum or dad because that could just get awkward and weird so I'm going to try and give you as much advice as I can now. Being in love is amazing. It's - it sometimes scares me how much I care and love one single person. I grew up always wanting my own fairytale ending and even as I grew up, that was all I wanted - the how's and when's and who's were still blank spaces but I just wanted that happy ending but I honestly never a love so strong was possible. But it's incredible. It's _indescribable_. Suddenly you stop being just 'me' and 'you' as a single person and everything starts to become 'we' and 'us' " Kurt smiled fondly to himself. "When even the littlest things they do and most of the time, don't even notice they're doing make you catch your breath and fall in love that little bit more - " Kurt smiled as he thought about every morning when Blaine woke up, his hair in every possible direction, his eyes still half shut even as he squints them open but Kurt would still be adamant that Blaine is the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He also thought about the times when occasionally, he's fallen asleep before Blaine and when he wakes up in the middle of the night, he finds Blaine had made sure his tablets and a fresh glass of water are right beside him should he need them. "I'm sure, especially when you're young, you might meet someone and after a week or so, you become completely infatuated and that you're in love because they're so attractive or you have something in common or maybe they smiled at you the right way and of course, all of these are important but real love, _true_ love is learning to grow with one another. It's about sometimes putting your needs aside for that other person and they're willing to do the same. it's about doing things, like going to several sports games - " Kurt deadpanned as he slightly rolled his eyes in jest " - even though you cannot stand them or really don't see the appeal in it. It's about, that even when life is driving you to the brim of insanity, that one person can always make it better and bring you back because they know you better than anyone else; sometimes even better than you know yourself. It's commitment, trust, partnership, it's persevering though all the crap the world might throw at you because you know your love and what you have is worth everything. Blaine saved me in so many different ways. He makes me the happiest I've ever been and at one of the worst points in my life- " Kurt said as he thought back to when his whole ordeal with Karofsky had come to a head midway through his sophomore year " - he made me believe in love and that kind of happiness again." His voice was steady but the tears were fast falling down Kurts cheeks. "That's another thing I want to say to you. Maybe you're my little brother and you love a boy or maybe you're my little sister and you love a girl, and that's okay! If you are gay, that's fine! Sometimes, you'll come across ignorant, mindless people that will tell you 'it's unnatural, it's wrong' blah blah but _**I'm**_ telling you, it is the most natural thing in the world. It doesn't matter if you're gay or straight - love is love. It's a universal language, you know - it is the exact same wherever you go or whatever you are. Love is, it's everything. And I can't wait for you to experience it one day" he smiled at the camera.

"Okay, I think there is just one more thing I want to say to you and then I'll leave you alone" he laughed. "What I want to say to you is to never give up on what you want in life. Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something, be whatever you want or that you're not good enough otherwise you can bet I'll come back and kick their asses! Never give up on what you want in life" Kurt said with a serious tone to his voice, nodding his head at the same time for emphasis. "I'm sure Dad has already given you the whole "nobody pushes the Hummels around" but seriously, remember that because all I want and will _ever _want for you is to be happy. If there is one thing these last six months have taught me is exactly that - to never give up, no matter how hard things get, no matter how much you might think things are as bad as they could ever get, no matter how completely fed up and exhausted you are whether that me mentally, physically or emotionally - don't give up. Life might throw a tornado load of crap at you but there's always something to keep going for and people around you that love you and will help you though everything. And if High School ever gets hard for you, who knows, maybe you're really popular but even when I was in Glee Club, I learnt that the popular kids didn't always have it so easy either, just bare in mind that one day, you'll be gone from there and all of those faces in the hallways will fade to become nothing but distant memories."

"Okay" Kurt exhaled as he clapped his hands on his thighs, "I think I've rambled on for long enough so I'm going to love you and leave you now. I really hope this video is somewhere you can turn to if you ever need to. Be amazing!" Kurt refused to sign off with a goodbye. He leant up off of the bed and pressed the record button once more, this time to stop the recording. He took a moment to gather himself before shouting "I'm done" in the direction of the doorway. Seconds later, the door slowly started to creak open as Blaine peered his head around the door.

"Hey" he cooed. "How are you?" He asked as he walked further into the room.

"I'm good" Kurt nodded.

"How was it?" Blaine asked cautiously.

Kurt pouted his bottom lip as he thought. "Refreshing actually."

"That...is not the word I expected you to use" Blaine said but smiled inquisitively all the same.

"You totally thought I was going to say 'sad' right?" Blaine shrugged as if to say _'well, yeah'_. "It was" Kurt asserted. "But, I don't know, it felt good to just talk and keep talking. And I feel better now knowing that if worst comes to worst, they'll always have that. It was good to talk."

"And you don't talk my ear off nearly every single day?" Blaine joked.

"Oh my god shut _up!_" Kurt laughed as he slapped Blaines bicep which also had Blaine laughing too.

"Well, while I was waiting for you, I got a _seriously _craving for a chocolate brownie sundae with marshmallows and hot fudge sauce, soooo - " Blaine started as he threaded their fingers together. " - how would you fancy a little impromptu Saturday afternoon date down at Pops? My treat."

Kurt unlinked their hands to wind his own arms around Blaines waist, the space between them infinitely small now.

"Oooh" Kurt cooed. "I would say 'hell yeah' Mr Anderson. Maybe we could even get a milkshake and share it - be one of those couples you see in pictures from a 50's diner."

"Done and done."

* * *

><p>The month of November was thrust upon them qucker than they knew. As of this point, Kurt had undergone six rounds of chemoradiotherapy and he, Dr Rolstone and Steph all remained optimistic. He only had two more weeks: two more rounds of treatments before his next set of check ups. Kurt had almost taken on a new attitude in the recent weeks of a "whatever happens, happens" approach. Of course he was still hoping with everything he had that everything would be okay but it was almost as if he had just decided to stop focusing on the negatives of the situation, get the treatments like he had done so for the last 6 months and let nature run its course because focusing on the possible negative outcomes just made him stressed and upset and that was something he didn't want to be - he wanted to focus on the positives in his life. However it was a mutual feeling between them all that this time, everything felt different and maybe that was because of the new approach to the treatment they had taken but there was something this time around that made them all feel a little more hopeful.<p>

The sun relentlessly filtering through the window one Sunday morning awoke Blaine from his peaceful sleep but today wasn't just any ordinary Sunday. Today was his birthday; his twentieth birthday and it quickly became apparent that Kurt hadn't forgotten this detail either. On the other pillow, where Blaine was usually graced with the sight of Kurts face was replaced today with a folded note. Blaine pushed himself further up the pillows so he was leaning his body weight on his elbow. He blinked his eyelids shut a few times in an attempt to clear his vision after a whole nights sleep. He reached over to open the note in front of him.

"Follow the petals ˂3 "

Blaine smiled and furrowed his eyebrows a little because 'petals?' but as he peered over at the end of the bed, low and behold, a single red petal laid on the floor. Blaine laughed softly to himself - _his boyfriend was the best _- before swinging his legs over the side of the bed, desperate to see what Kurt had planned for him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner, picking up the last petal as he did, his breath hitched at the sight of the dining room table. Two plates had been set out, the cutlery placed neatly beside them, a glass jug of orange juice and a single red rose that had been placed in a clear vase resided in the middle of the table and the sound of Kurt singing along to his iPod in the kitchen warmed his heart even more than he thought was possible in that moment.

"Twenty petals" Blaine smiled as he walked into the kitchen, holding the petals out in front of him in between his thumb and forefinger. Kurt shot round and smiled brightly when he saw who it was. "That's cute."

"Well, sometimes I'm cute like that I guess" Kurt quipped as he walked into Blaines arms, wrapping his own around his Blaines waist.

"True -" Blaine contemplated "- But the fact that you have flour on your cheek makes you extra cute today" Blaine smirked, wiping the flour away with his thumb.

"Oh my god" Kurt laughed as he fell forward, hiding his head in Blaines chest but felt a little less embarrassed as he felt Blaines chest moving up and down beneath him, a clear sign that he too was laughing. "That's so not sexy" he murmured into Blaines night t-shirt.

"On the contrary" Blaine replied. Kurt playfully wrinkled his nose as he pulled back but the expression was quickly replaced by a smile. "Happy Birthday" he whispered before leaning back him, his lips meeting Blaines. It was soft but firm, slow but everything, so much they felt it down to the tips of their toes. They both sighed into it and god, they would have been completely content to stay in the warm moment forever. Kurt kissed the corner of Blaines mouth as they began to pull away.

"I can't believe you're 20" Kurt stated. "I'm dating an old man now" he quipped as Blaine gasped.

"There's only 4 months difference between our birthdays! You'll be 19 in March!"

"I'm joking babe!" Kurt smiled, wrapping his arms around Blaines neck. "20 isn't old at all and besides, I love that you're older than me."

"Ahh is that your secret Kurt Hummel?! Got a thing for older men 'ey?" Blaine teased.

"No. Just you" Kurt simply replied. Blaine ducked his head, smiling widely to himself. "Okay, Breakfast!" Kurt exclaimed. "I thought we could just do breakfast as our own thing and your parents already asked me if we were free for lunch because they want to take you out and then we can do whatever you want for the rest of the day seeing as it is _your _birthday."

"Sounds perfect. Really perfect" Blaine smiled. "How can I help y-" Blaine managed to get out before a hand swatted against his shoulder blade.

"Uh uh uh - no way! Sit down. Breakfast is all under control."

"Are you - "

"Yes I'm sure Blaine Anderson. It's your birthday - It's like a 'Get out of jail free' card that lasts all day. Now sit!"

A feast was the only way to describe it. Kurt had made a generous amount of pancakes that were light and fluffy with a hint of vanilla that sent them right over the edge of being pure heaven and to accompany them, a blueberry syrup that had been made by heating blueberries and maple syrup until the blueberries burst and cooling it right down to make the best syrup Blaine had ever tasted. Fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries were placed carefully and decoratively around the pancakes and they'd had freshly brewed coffee as well as the orange juice and by the end of it, Blaine could only manage to stomach half a slice of toast from the rack Kurt had placed in the middle of the table.

"That was incredible" Blaine huffed out, his posture slumping slightly in his chair.

"It was okay then?" Kurt double checked.

"I think judging by the food baby I'm showing at the moment -" Kurts face broke out into a wide smile as he chuckled " - is a good indication that it was more than okay Kurt."

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's your birthday after all; everything has to be special and extra brilliant."

"Well this is our first birthday where we're living together so it's already pretty special"

"The first of many" Kurt smiled. "Okay, can I give you your present now?" Kurt asked. It was like a five year old asking for Ice cream.

"Okay" Blaine chuckled softly at Kurts excitement. Kurt got up and disappeared into the kitchen where from one of the drawers, he pulled out an impeccably wrapped rectangular shaped present, complete with a white bow and ribbon curls and a envelope placed on top. Kurt kissed Blaines cheek as he handed him his card and present before sitting back down in his chair next to him. Blaine opened the card first and as he pulled it out, his face broke out into a huge smile as he read the words on the front of it.

_Happy Birthday to my Boyfriend  
>For being the best that a boyfriend can be<br>For kisses that make me go weak at the knees  
>For wonderful smiles that make everything right<em>

He then opened the card to read the rest, thinking it was impossible for his heart to swell any bigger than it felt right now.

_For cosy warm hugs on cold winter nights  
>For being there always come rain or come shine<br>I love you so much and I'm so glad you're mine!_

Kurt had then added his own touch as he wrote

_Blaine  
>Happy Birthday! You're old [- er] now!<br>I hope you have an amazing day and thank you for just being you  
>I love you - forever and always<br>Kurt  
>xxxx<em>

"You're not going to let go of the fact I'm not a teenager anymore are you" Blaine quipped as he held up the card.

"I am now" Kurt smiled. "It was just fun to tease you for a little while. But like I said, I really don't care" he added, just to reassure Blaine once more.

"I know. Besides, I'm just holding this over you for when I turn 21 and you're still 20 and I'm the one who can legally buy alcohol" Blaine quipped making an '_ooh_' kind of face.

"Oh snap Mr Anderson!" Kurt gasped mock offended. "You got me there!" he said before they both started laughing. "Okay, present now."

Blaine started to carefully open the present, unfolding each flap before then throwing all inhibitions away and tearing at the paper to reveal the once concealed present - wasn't that half the fun of receiving presents anyway! As Blaine pushed the paper off the present, he breath hitched at the gift. It was a white photo frame and the photo Kurt had placed in it was a particular favourite of Blaines. It had been taken last winter, a couple of weeks before Christmas when Blaine had just got back home after finishing his winter semester. The two of them had taken a walk through Whinfell Park. The park was blanketed in thick, white snow and more snow continued to fall as they walked hand in hand, revelling in each others company after being separated for weeks on end, having to make do with daily texts, phone and Skype calls. Dressed appropriately for the conditions, Blaine was wearing his black duffle coat, complete with a simple dark green scarf that Kurt had insisted "brings out the colour of your eyes" when he bought it and a black beanie hat whereas Kurt was wearing his form fitting black peacoat which he paired with a grey and charcoal coloured snood. At some point during the venture, Kurt had pulled out his phone and taken a picture of the two of them but as he pressed the camera button to capture the moment, Kurt had kissed Blaines cheek and caused Blaine toothy smile to become even wider, his eyes crinkling at how hard he was smiling as Kurts lips pouted against his cheek. It was posed but completely natural at the same time - it was just them and it was one of his all time favourites. Within the photo frame, behind the photo was beautiful printed handwriting which read phrases such as_ 'love is kind, love is patient, love is difficult to find but when found is the most magical gift to be given, love is two hearts beating as one' _and then in between each one, the phrase was rewritten in Italian and on top of the writing, directly below the photo was two silver interlinked rings.

"I love that photo of us" Kurt said softly, bringing Blaine out of the daze he had found himself in as he took in every little detail of the frame. "I saw the frame when I was out shopping with Mercedes a couple of months ago before she left and, I just fell in love with it. I loved the rings; I saw it and thought that it could like represent our promise rings and - "

"I love it Kurt" Blaine smiled as he looked up at his boyfriend. "It's amazing. I - I just love it. Thank you so much." He leaned slightly up off his chair, cupping Kurts cheek with his hand as he kissed him. Gifts are a funny thing. It's common knowledge that most people ask for gifts like an iPad, a laptop, a television - something ridiculously expensive but a simple photo frame, something so simple but personal and meaningful, sometimes they're the best kind of gift a person could ever receive.

After they had finished washing up all of the dishes (Kurt eventually gave up on trying to shoot down Blaines insistence that he at least help with the dishes) , showered and got dressed, the rest of the morning was spent snuggling together in bed before leaving the house around midday to meet Isabelle and Nathan for lunch at 'Delizioso' seeing as they loved it so much the first time around. After they had all finished eating, Isabelle and Nathan presented their son with their gift to him. For his present, Isabelle and Nathan had given Blaine his first and very own set of silver cufflinks that gleamed brightly as the lights reflected down on them; a clear indication that these were the real deal. To make them even more special, they'd also had both of them engraved with his initials 'B.A' etched into the left hand corners.

"I love them. Thank you" Blaine said as he hugged both Isabelle and Nathan.

"Happy Birthday honey" Isabelle smiled, leaving a hint of red lipstick on his skin as she kissed his cheek.

"Happy Birthday son" Nathan said as he patted Blaine on the back as they hugged. Kurt smiled as he watched the whole exchange between the three of them. They quickly settled back down and ordered dessert to finish off an already perfect meal on a perfect afternoon. Blaine loved that he could spend time with his parents like this again, and having Kurt right by his side and watching as Kurt and his mum and dad laughed and talked animatedly as if they were old friends, well it was all he had ever hoped for.

Despite receiving countless and what seemed like a endless stream of 'happy birthday' texts, Facebook notifications and tweets to him, Blaine received a special 'happy birthday' phone call from David which had started off David singing an interesting rendition of 'Happy Birthday' as son as Blaine had answered the phone and said hello.

"Welcome to the 20 year olds club!" David exclaimed happily.

"Your birthday isn't until April" Blaine stated.

"Oh right where it hurts! Why did you have to kill the mood for? A guy can dream! Being twenty means one year closer to twenty one which everyone knows is the prime age!" Blaine couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous his best friend was. "So how has your birthday been so far?" David asked.

"It's been really nice" Blaine smiled as he made himself comfortable on his bed. "Kurt made me breakfast this morning and he gave me this really lovely photo frame of us - "

"Gross" David muttered before Blaine had even finished his sentence. "You guys are so gross." David joked and Blaine laughed heartedly. He knew it was meant in the best way possible.

"And then we literally just got back from going out to lunch with my parents like, forty five minutes ago and I'm not really sure about the rest of the night."

"sounds like it has been pretty awesome though! I'm really glad for you that you and your parents are making a go of things again. I mean, you slept in our spare room for a whole summer so I know how rough the whole thing was on you."

"You can't deny though, our midnight marathon PS3 sessions complete with the midnight feasts were pretty legendary" Blaine remarked.

"Duh! They were the best - no wonder we carried on with them on the rare occasion at College!" David exclaimed. "But no in all seriousness, I am really happy for you all." Blaine smiled.

"Thanks" he replied. The two boys were silent for a moment before David spoke up again.

"How's Kurt doing at the moment? I couldn't believe when you told me about the Chemo not working."

"He's doing really good" Blaine nodded although David couldn't see. "His doctors are pleased with how his body has taken well to the change in treatment, what with it being more intense and frequent but he's doing really well with it. Everyone is just kind of hoping that with it being more powerful and constant - "

"He stands more of a chance" David finished.

"Yeah" Blaine winced. "What about you and Jenna? How are you guys?"

"Well we're not going to be joining you and Kurt on any double dates anytime soon seeing as we broke up last week."

"Oh I'm - " Blaine started but David quickly silenced him.

"Dude, it's honestly cool. We're still friends but we just kept arguing and, we've just become two different people now. Anyways, I'm going to let you go and get back to your perfect little Brady Bunch family life!" David quipped which made Blaine laugh. "Miss you up here dude but I'm home in five weeks for Christmas so catch up then?" David said with a hopeful tone to his voice.

"Done deal!" Blaine replied before they both hung up the phone.

The rest of the night ended up being very relaxing. By the time Burt got home from work that night, nearing half seven and everyone just seconds away from climbing up the walls with hunger, Carole suggested they order a few pizzas and have a quiet night in. After they had all completely stuffed themselves silly on 'Pepperoni Feast' and 'Chicken BBQ' pizzas, garlic bread and every other side they had ordered which Burt had insisted they do as it was a 'special occasion', the rest of the Hummel Hudson clan gave their gifts to Blaine. From Burt and Carole, Blaine received a bottle of his favourite aftershave and a Fossil watch that was pure silver around the face of the watch, the black background allowing the silver minute marking and hands of the clock stand out in a classy way, complete with a black leather strap. From Finn, he had gotten more of a modest gift and knowing of Blaines insane love for music, Finn had gotten him a pillow that allowed him to plug his iPod into and his music would play through it as he slept! It was just the perfect end to what had been a lovely birthday.

"Have you had a good birthday then?" Kurt asked as they walked into their bedroom later on that night, hand in hand. Everyone else had already retired for the night and they were the last two to make their way upstairs.

"The best" Blaine smiled as he recalled the days events. He spun Kurt around to face him, encircling his arms around his waist. "Thank you for everything today" he whispered as rubbed his nose affectionately against Kurts. Kurt couldn't help but close the distance between them as he pressed their lips together. Being this close to Blaine always felt so intoxicating in the best possible way.

"You're welcome" Kurt breathed against Blaines cheek. "Besides, your birthday isn't over just quite yet - " Kurt leaned up, bringing his mouth closer to Blaines ear. "- I have one more present for you."

* * *

><p>One.<p>

Just one.

That was the amount of treatments Kurt had left in his eight week course. As it was now the middle of November, Kurt had just one more round of chemoradiotherapy scheduled for the 28th and that was it. If everything went as well he hoped with every fibre in his body it would, no longer would his Wednesdays, like they had for the last 5 months be filled with early morning trips to the clinic, sitting in a chair for hours on end as the chemo drips into his body or as was the case for the last seven weeks, no longer would he spend his days lying on a bed as high energy rays beamed all over his body. No longer would the majority of his Thursdays and part of his Fridays be spent with his face head down in a toilet bowl. No longer would he brush his hair every morning and wonder how much was going to fall out this time. Kurt felt lucky in that his hair hadn't completely fallen out over the course of his treatments but he had noticed a noticeable thinness to it over the months. This _had _to work. He was determined as ever but Kurt was more than ready for all of this to be over; ready for his life to bear some normalcy again.

"I've been thinking - " Kurt suddenly piped up from where he was laying on Blaines chest, his arm swung lazily over Blaines stomach. Blaine made a noise of acknowledgement as he lifted his book up slightly above his head so that he could see Kurt. It was the Saturday before his last treatment and they were more than content to spend the day just marvelling in each others company. " - well, I was thinking about visiting my mums grave soon and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?"

"Kurt of course I would. Are you sure you don't want to ask your dad too though?" Blaine asked. Kurt shook his head against Blaines chest.

"We already go every year on her birthday and before Christmas and have our little thing. I want this to just be something that me and you share. Just going to visit her, just - just because. Besides, Dad's so busy at work nowadays it's a miracle when he's actually around" Kurt exclaimed. He felt Blaines body shake beneath him as he chuckled softly.

"How about tomorrow then?" Blaine asked.

"Really?" Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine, resting his chin on his arm that was propped up on Blaines stomach. "I just asked you like, 5 seconds ago."

"Why not?" Blaine smiled. "I mean we're both free tomorrow so why not go visit your mum?"

"You're the best" Kurt smiled. "Tomorrow it is then."

"I hate cemeteries" Kurt muttered as he and Blaine walked along the main pathway of the cemetery, hand in hand, the fall leaves crunching beneath their feet. The sun was shining but the air was crisp, reminding them that winter was just around the corner. The ground was so vast that there were several pathways veering off from the main one that ran directly through the middle of the cemetery that made finding plots easier but Kurt directed them easily. He'd been here so many times in the last six years that it was almost like finding his way home - easy and familiar and in a strange way, although a cemetery was the last place a person would call home, it kind of was because his mum was here and would always be right here.

"Not disagreeing with you there" Blaine replied as he looked around at all of the headstones surrounding them when suddenly, his eyes caught the children's section. Without even having to look at the headstones, you could always tell where the children's section was as the area itself was more colourful and nearly every plot had a colourful windmill plotted in the ground or a stuffed animal resting against the headstones - nothing was worse than reading that some of these children hadn't even seen their first birthday.

"This way" Kurt said, more to himself as he and Blaine veered off the main pathway onto another one. Blaine knew they were close because even though it felt like cemeteries all look the same, the surroundings that he recognised as being near Mrs Hummels plot started to get more and more familiar: the Ceder tree that had a curved bark, slightly leaning over to the side, the marble angel over some ones resting place, almost like it was watching over them or something and the double plot of Mr and Mrs Collen who had been married for 53 years and died within months of each other and Blaine was always moved by their inscription on their stone that read 'They lived together in happiness and may they rest together in peace'. They veered off again from the pathway but this time, to walk across the grass where after mere seconds of walking, there in front of them was Mrs Hummels headstone.

"Hey mum" Kurt said casually as they approached his mum.

"Hey Mrs Hummel."

Elizabeths headstone was simple but classy. They had chosen a black granite one with a curved arch with a grey rose running up the left hand side - a tasteful tribute to the fact that Elizabeths favourite flowers were roses. The grass had grown over the earth many years ago and the groundskeepers clearly done their jobs very well because every time Kurt visited, or any of them for that matter, the grass was always neatly trimmed. The inscription was simple but every single word of it was true.

_In loving memory of  
><em>_**Elizabeth Hummel**__  
>28.6.71- 10.8.06<br>Aged 35 Years Old  
>A loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend<br>Gone are the days we used to  
>share but in our hearts you<em>_'__re  
>always there.<em>

They sat cross legged on the grass in front of the stone, Kurt snuggled tightly under Blaines arm that was wrapped on his shoulders with Blaines head resting on top of Kurts. They were silent for a long time. They didn't feel that any words needed to be said because just being there, being with Elizabeth again, that was enough. As they sat there, Blaine thought back to the first time Kurt brought him to visit his mum.

* * *

><p><em>It was around six months into their relationship before they went to visit. Although they were practically best friends before anything else, Blaine still didn't know the in's and outs, the how's or why's about how Kurts mum had died but he never <em>_pressurised__ Kurt for information. No matter how many years passed by, this would always be a fresh wound for Kurt and Blaine knew that if and when Kurt was ready, he would tell him. The only word to describe how Blaine felt when Kurt had first asked him if he wanted to go to the grave with him was honoured. He couldn't describe it but he knew that this wasn't something Kurt shared with anyone outside of his family so to be taking this step with Kurt and sharing this with him truly did feel like an honour. _

_"Are you nervous?" Kurt noted as they drove to the __cemetery__. Kurt drove them there seeing as he knew exactly where to go and the tapping of Blaines fingers against his kneecap, a gesture he knew Blaine only really done when he was nervous, hadn't escaped his notice. _

_"A little" Blaine replied sheepishly. "I mean, like, I know she's not - well - I know she's not 'here' here - " Blaine struggled with how to word that and he paused to make sure Kurt wasn't upset by the choice of words but Kurt was just nodding his head at the facts at Blaine before turning his focus back to the road, clearly unphased, " - but, she's still your mum. She's important to you and that makes her important to me."_

_"I think if you can get through meeting my dad as my boyfriend for the first time, you'll be fine with my mum" Kurt laughed softly. _

_"It's silly huh" Blaine said_

_"No, it's not silly. It's far from silly It's sweet that you care so much" Kurt turned to smile at Blaine, rubbing his hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, up and down Blaines thigh in comfort. "It'll be fine though" he reassured confidently. The rest of the drive was spent in a comfortable silence and within the next ten minutes, they were standing right there. _

_"Hey mum" Kurt started. "I actually have someone with me today who I really want you to meet. This is Blaine" Kurt said as he smiled at Blaine, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "I know I've __kind of__ talked to you about him quite a bit about him over the last few months and well as you know, we're together now and I couldn't be happier mum. He makes me so happy, happier than I ever thought I could be and I know you're meeting him now but, well, I really wish you could __**really **__be here to meet him. He's pretty special to me and I know you would've loved him. He's everything you ever wanted for me. He's everything." By the end of his sentence, Kurt was still talking to his mum but by the end of it, his eyes were pretty much locked with Blaines, both of them staring at each other as if the sun was rising in the others eyes. _

_'I love you' Blaine mouthed before turning to Elizabeth's grave. "Hey Mrs Hummel. I know it's taken us a while to get here but I'm so, __**so **__glad we are now. It truly is a real pleasure finally to meet you. Kurt's told me so much about you, I kind of feel like I already know you." Blaine pursed his lips for a moment. "Can I, would it be okay if I talked to her for a few minutes please?" Kurts eyebrows lifted in surprise._

_"Yeah!" he exclaimed, completely surprised. "Yeah of course - You're okay with that?" Kurt pondered. He couldn't describe it but he knew that this was a huge step they were taking right now, he was sharing something with Blaine that practically nobody outside of his family knew the true in's and out's of so by Blaine asking him if he could spend some quality time with his mum, well Kurt knew Blaine was special but something like this showed him just how special he really was. _

_"I'm gonna go for a walk then" Kurt leaned up slightly to press a cheek to Blaines cheek. "Take your time" he smiled before squeezing Blaines hand one last time before walking away. As he got back to the pathway, he turned around to see that Blaine was already sitting down cross legged on the ground. _

_"You know, between you and I, graveyards and cemetery's kind of always creep me out" Blaine laughed softly as he looked around at his surroundings. "I think I've watched too many horror films - Kurt tells me that anyway but I don't know, being here with you is, it feels tranquil. I feel really safe and peaceful with you. I really wish I could've met you" Blaine sighed. "You sure did raise an amazing son and I think you can tell __a lot__ about a person by how they raise their children, and by what Kurt tells me but I think it's safe to say that you too, were a kind and loving person. Mrs Hummel, I love Kurt. He's the kindest, bravest, most moral and compassionate person I've ever met - Burt tells me he gets those last two __particularly__ from you so thank you. Every day, I count myself so lucky that I get to call myself his boyfriend and I can call him mine, and maybe one day even more. I promise to always protect him and to always do what is best for him, whatever makes him happy. I'm in love with your son Mrs Hummel and if he'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life loving him, telling him every day, showing him in everything that I do that he is the absolute love of my life and the only person I ever want to spend the rest of my life with. I know I'm only 18 but when you know, you just know."_

_Blaine was silent for a moment as he thought about anything else he wanted to tell Mrs Hummel but all of a sudden, he felt a weight against his back and a __familiar__ pair of arms wrapped around his waist. _

_"How long have you been there?" Blaine asked, wondering just how much Kurt might've heard of his conversation. _

_"Not long" Kurt said as he hooked his chin over Blaines shoulder. "Would you be mad if I told you I caught about the last 30 seconds and I was going to pretend I never heard but I just couldn't?"_

_"How could I be mad at that?" Blaine smiled as he turned his head to face Kurt. _

_"Okay good" Kurt smiled. "Because the same goes for me. I want everything with you - always and forever. And thank you for telling my mum all of that. I know you she would have loved you."_

_"It feels so __inappropriate__ to kiss you in a graveyard right now" Blaine groaned. They both instantly broke out into fits of laughter, Kurt burying his face in Blaines neck so Blaine settled for kissing Kurts temple. _

_"I love you" Kurt __murmured__ into __Blaines__ neck. "Thank you for today."_

_"Thank you for sharing this - __**her**__, with me."_

_"It was a car accident" Kurt suddenly said, his eyes never leaving the passing surroundings out of the window. Blaine was __driving__ them home and they had been driving in a comfortable silence, happy to reflect back on the day. They were still a while away from being home but as they were on a straight road that was pretty much empty, Blaine put on his hazards and pulled over to side. He knew that this was something he should give Kurt his undivided attention to. _

_"She was just driving home from work" Kurt continued. "When I was old enough, she decided to go back part time and so she would work while I was at school and she would always be home in time to pick me up. She was just driving home" he shrugged. "A simple twenty minute journey that she made everyday for the last three years, but this particular day, this guy - I don't know why and a part of me doesn't want to know why because its not going to change anything- she's still gone, but according to the police reports, this guys blood alcohol level was off the charts - he'd clearly had way too much to drink even though it was early afternoon and he just ran a red light, just as a car was crossing the intersection."  
>Blaine took a sharp intake of breath as he realised the other car that Kurt was describing was in fact Kurts mum. "He hit her from the drivers side, full on and so fast that the impact sent the car spinning, it toppled over too and that's it. By the time the paramedics pulled her out, she was so badly injured and a few hours later, she was gone." Blaine reached over to take Kurts hand, a silent comfort to let Kurt know that he was there, that he always would be. Kurt paused to compose himself but a tear had already betrayed him, falling softly down his cheek. "I'll never forget getting pulled out of art class that day. My dad was waiting for me in the principals office. That was the first time I'd ever seen dad cry. I mean, how do you tell your 8 year old son that his mum, who he saw that very same morning, who had made him waffles with maple syrup for breakfast and then had laughed at him because he had more syrup round his mouth than actually on the waffles, who had kissed him goodbye and promised him that she would help him with his math homework that night and then have ice cream afterwards; how do you even begin to tell him that's she not here anymore, and she never will be again." Both of them had tear stained <em>_cheeks at__ this point, __sporadic__ tears still falling and Blaine __didn't__ hesitate for one second to lean over the console and pull Kurt into his arms. He didn't need to say any more and Blaine didn't need to hear anymore. _

_"It's okay" Blaine whispered over and over again as Kurts body shook gently beneath his grasp. "It's okay, It's okay." The death of Kurts mum would always be a like a really bad wound, over time, the injury would heal over but the scar would always be there. _

_"I know" Kurt sniffed as he sat upright, wiping his eyes. "It just never gets easier."_

_"I know __there's__ probably nothing I could ever say to make the pain go away" Blaine said so sadly it made Kurts heart twinge. "But, I know she would've been so proud of you Kurt." Kurt smiled at Blaine with nothing but affection and gratitude on his flushed face. _

_"So, you talked her ear off about me huh?" Blaine smiled, trying to distract Kurt and to lighten the mood and it __instantly__ seemed to work. _

_"Oh shut up" Kurt __choked on a sob__ as he laughed, swatting his hand __against__ Blaines arm. _

_"It's okay" Blaine smiled as he swung his arm around Kurts neck, Kurt instantly snuggling into Blaines side over the console. "I talked Coopers off about you too so we're even."_

* * *

><p>The wind was crisp and sharp so it was no surprise when Kurt shivered into Blaines side from where they were sitting on the ground. "It's getting colder" he stated.<p>

"Where's your scarf?" Blaine asked. He was sure Kurt was carrying one in his arms when they left the house.

"I didn't think I'd need it so I just left it in the car. Clearly I was wrong" Kurt scoffed.

"Do you want me to go get it?"

"No no don't be silly! I'll be fine. Don't worry" Kurt protested profusely.

"Would you rather I go get it so we can stay longer or not go and get it and then we have to leave early before you freeze to death?" Blaine questioned, his eyebrows raised. "Besides, you need to keep your immune system strong - we really can't risk you getting ill" Blaine questioned, his eyebrows raised.

"Scarf" Kurt sighed but smiled as he backed down.

"Thought as much. I'll be five minutes." Blaine pressed a fleeting kiss to Kurts cheek before standing up, dusting his hand over his jeans before walking away.

"Thank you!" Kurt said over his shoulder before turning back towards the headstone.

"Just me and you here now" Kurt observed as he spoke to his mum. "He's so good to me isn't he? Remember when you used to read me fairy tales before I'd go to bed because they were my favourites and I always used to say to you if I could have my own prince one day, because its always a woman who finds a Prince Charming, never a Prince who finds a, Princess Charming because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have known I was gay at such a young age but maybe you had an inkling because you would always say "there's a Prince Charming out there for everyone, especially me". Maybe you knew even then but I definitely did find my prince" Kurt smiled before sighing. "I miss you so much mum. There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't wish that you were still here, especially in these last few months but as much as I do miss you, I'm not ready to go yet. It's funny, although this whole thing could go completely sour and my life really could end at any second, I feel like it's only just begun. You know, like I've just graduated high school and although I haven't really been able to what with everything that's happened but as soon as I'm better, I want to go to College and make a career for myself. Carole's pregnant and I want nothing more than to be able to see my little brother or sister grow up. I only really started to find my true self a couple of years ago and you know, then there's Blaine" Kurt shrugged as he smiled. "We've only just started our lives together but threes still so much I want to do with him - like rent our first apartment and even though its awful and the taps leak and there's one particular floorboard you have to avoid because it creaks so loudly, it'll be perfect because it's ours, like get married and one day be able to introduce him to people we just meet as 'my husband' and have kids and grow old until we're wrinkly and grey but we'll love each other just as much as we do right now, if not more. I just, I'm not ready quite just yet."

Before Kurt could say any more, Blaine was walking up behind him. "Here you are good sir" he chirped as he handed the scarf over to Kurt before sitting back down beside him.

"Thank you" Kurt said as he wrapped it snugly around his neck before wrapping his arm around Blaines waist and curling back into his side. Kurts eyes wandered around his surroundings, headstone after headstone before his eyes fell back to his mothers. Of course there would come a day where he would have his own but there was no way he was going to have one of his own within the next few months or years.

* * *

><p>"You know, most people on Sundays actually rest, not open their business for more work after an already busy week" Carole quipped from the sofa as Burt walked in the door gone five o'clock from another shift at work.<p>

"Carole please, not again" Burt sighed as he shuffled his jacket from his shoulders and hung it up.

"Burt please! I'm really worried about you! I understand why you're doing this, I really do but we have money. We're fine for now."

"I know that but I want to keep paying those medical bills. I know we're good and we still have the money from the fundraiser and from Blaines parents but you know, I just want to not have this be something still hanging over our heads in five or ten years time. And besides, at the end of the day, this is a win win solution. We're bringing in more money to help with them and the business is brining in more revenue than normal. It's not a big deal!"

"So if you really insist on keeping the shop open for longer and business is better then ever, why not bring in another manager? Or promote one of your guys? Why is it YOU that has to carry the load!?" It was rarer than seeing an eclipse that Carole raised her voice but she had reached a point of being so concerned about her husbands welfare that she was nearly in hysterics.

"Carole!" Burt shouted equally as loud "I promise you, I'm fi - Oh, oh, okay maybe not fine" Burt leaned against the back of the couch as he started rubbing over his chest.

"Burt?" Caroles voice dropped, anger instantly replaced with worry and concern. "Burt what's wrong?" At the precise moment, the sound of the front door unlocking could be heard, Blaine and Kurt, giggling and smiling as they walked through the door as if they were in their own little world and completely oblivious to anything else but they were soon to the nightmare in front of them; Burts face scrunched up as if he was in some sort of pain and Caroles arm around his waist.

"Call the hospital" she said as she turned to the boys. Despite her calm exterior, the worry was evident in her voice. "I think your dad might be having a heart attack."

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Yay or Nay?**

**Just a little note, Pops is actually a real Ice Cream parlour in Costa Rica so thats my little nod to my time there:) I couldnt go though because I speak bare minimum Spanish and didnt have a clue how to order anything but it looked so good!**

**I actually had so much fun writing this chapter even though it was emotionally draining at times! I hope you liked the video section too! I have to give credit to Eric McLean and his video which you can find on YouTube called 'Erics Confession Final' for that part. I watched it in preperation for writing my own and the mans amazing! I actually watched it in Costa Rica when i got home from volunteering one day and i was literally crying in my room - his story was just so powerful and sad! So thats basically where i wrote about half of the video section (In Costa Rica) and then finished it off and wrote about half of the birthday section on the plane flying home - I had a 10 hours flight so I had a lot of time to kill!**

**Also, I hope you guys like the whole of Kurts mum - the flashback and Kurts conversation with her in the rpesent day. I've wanted to write that basically ever since I started this story and I even found the note on my phone from where I had the idea and jotted it down and it's dated 23/7/2011 and my exact words were 'Kurt could go talk to his mum - as much as I'd love to be with you, I'm not ready to leave yet.' It's nice that nearly 2 years later, i actually stuck to the idea!:)**

**Also, heres irony for you! So I'd wrote a little segment on my phone about when Kurt tells Blaine his mum died in a car accident a couple of days before and then I started to type it all up in full last Thursday and then the next day, So Friday afternoon, I had my very own, first car accident! Im fine and the other people were fine and the cars were fine too but yeah, how ironic is that! :| **

**Also, I know in the actual show, Kurts mum died when he was 8 but to make parts of my story work and ideas I had, for them to work, I made his age a little higher at being 12 but I kept her name as Elizabeth cause I dont know, It just works and I think its a really lovely name anyway and 'Elizabeth Hummel' flows so nicely :D**

**Reviews**

**RozarieCriss **  
><strong>LOL oh my gosh yep, Im still here! Oh no im fine honey, nothings happened to me - just life! Busy busy busyyy! I dont not update for ages on purpose - it just happens:( <strong>  
><strong>And this chapter? It was sooo amazing but so sad.<strong>  
><strong>Eeek thank youuu!:D <strong>  
><strong> I really really hope that you are not planning on leting Kurt die (if you are, let me know rather soon:D)<strong>  
><strong>*taps nose with finger* - Can't sayy! I need you to keep reading! ;D<strong>  
><strong>Oooh well i hope you liked the little part with Blaine and his parents in this chapter - I want them to have a good relationship again too!:)<strong>

**cold kagome**  
><strong>Awwh im sorry i made you cry! Thats kinda good though cause it means im doing something right :D <strong>  
><strong>I know right, I want Blaine to be my boyfriend:( <strong>  
><strong>Thank you so much babe!:)<strong>

**nomorecandles**  
><strong>Oh god thats bad! When you dont even recognise what story it is, thats bad :L Im sorryy! <strong>  
><strong>OH MY GOD AN A*- CONGRATULATIONS! Thats amazing! I only left high school with one A* but i left with 5 A's so its all good! :L Oooh so 2 months today from the 12th March would have been a couple of weeks ago - how did it goo?<strong>  
><strong>I almost cried twice in this chapter I had to stop myself both times,<strong>  
><strong>Again, I'm sorry but that means im doing something right! <strong>  
><strong>but please please please let Kurt start getting better<strong>  
><strong>You'll have to wait and seeee!:)<strong>  
><strong>I hope you liked the video to Kurts siblingg:)<strong>

**GAML4EVER**  
><strong>Good im so happy! Thank youuu babe!:)<strong>

**KlaineFan88**  
><strong>I'm so glad you do! Thank youuu honeyy:)<strong>

**Okay so I'm going to go have a bath and a nap because I am literally exhausted from work! I'd love you if you left me nice things to come back to!**  
><strong>Until next time honeybunchess!(L)xx<strong>


	18. PREVIEW - Chapter 17

**Hey guys! :)**

**I am so sorry with how long it's been since I've updated - I'm fully aware of it, trust me! I feel so bad! Everything's been so crazy these last couple of months what with family summer holidays, work has been insane because i done about 80 hours of overtime over mid July/August on top of my normal hours and especially when Cory died, I don't know, I just kind of fell into this weird funk where I didn't want to do anything. Most importantly though, I'm moving to University on Sunday (22nd September) so as you can imagine, everything's pretty crazy right now trying to get ready and get everything packed and buying everything I need whenever I have spare time and I've also just bought a new laptop so I'm in the middle of switching everything over which is taking me for-ever! So I am really really sorry but I promise, as soon as I finish C17, it's all yours! I'm literally about halfway through now but with everything going on, I just have barely found time to sit down and write without being exhausted so as an apology to you guys and hopefully to keep you interested, I've decided to share the first little part of Chapter 17 (feels like ages ago since I wrote it!)**

**So enjoyy!:)**

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><p>"I'm fine goddammit!" Burt protested from the passenger seat of the car that was being driven by Carole at a speed that was slightly, but very clearly over the legal limit. "For the seventh time, I don't need to go to the hospital!"<p>

"Clearly you've suffered a case of amnesia as well as the heart attack in the last fifteen minutes because are you forgetting you had _another _heart attack just over a year ago?" Carole said through gritted teeth, clearly getting more and more stressed as more minutes passed and her husband was still protesting like a five year old in the seat beside her. "You would be stupid and irresponsible to not go see a doctor right now."

Kurt and Blaine sat silently in the back seat, their eyes darting backwards and forwards as they watched the two adults bicker backwards and forwards. Ever since they had walked through the front door and witnessed the startling scene in front of them, not even half an hour ago, Kurt had stayed impossibly silent.

_As Carole asked either of them to call the hospital whilst she stayed impossibly by Burts side, running her hand up and down his back as he lent against the back of the sofa, catching his breath as the dull pressure on his chest and the shooting pains down his arm and neck slowly but surely subsided, Kurt didn't move an inch. Couldn't move an inch. He'd barely even registered that Blaine had been on the phone for almost 5 minutes now. _

_"Yes. Yes. I'm not sure how long it lasted - my boyfriend and I walked in as - Okay, his wifes just told me it only lasted around a minute and a half, maybe two. He's a little short of breath but nothing like he was a few minutes ago. Okay. Yep. Yep we're leaving now. Thank you so much for your help." Blaine pressed the 'end' button on the screen of his phone, promptly ending the call. He hadn't even put his phone back in his pocket before he lifted his head, saying "we have to go - they want us to go up there right now" to Burt and Carole. _

_Although he appeared physically fine and much better than he had a few minutes ago, Carole still wound her arm around Burts waist, supporting him as they walked out of the front door, Carole picking up her handbag and car keys and Burt protesting his physical fitness along the way. Despite not having emptied his pockets the whole ten minutes they had been home, out of habit, Blaine patted his pockets to made sure he still had everything he might need and as he was just about ready to walk out of the door, Kurt still had yet to move. _

_"Kurt?" Blaine cooed. The gentle touch of Blaines hand against Kurts arm was the first thing Kurt had physically responded to since they had walked through the front door. He slowly turned his head towards Blaine, his eyes red rimmed and his bottom lip slightly pouting outwards. Kurt looked at Blaine with such vulnerability that instantly made him look ten years younger, almost like a scared little boy and Blaine could have died right there and then because the sight was nothing short of completely and utterly heartbreaking. _

_"Come on babe, we need to go". Kurt didn't even respond, nod - nothing, as Blaine, with a reassuring arm around Kurts waist, guided them out of the front door and opened the car door for them both. _

"Hey" Blaine softly nudged Kurt with the side of his body. As Kurt turned to face him, his face stoic but his tear stained cheeks confessing everything, Blaine offered him the warmest of smiles, a reassurance that he was there and always would be there. "Are you okay?"

Kurts eyes dropped as he didn't reply instantly. He slightly bowed his head before raising it back up, meeting Blaines eyes and when he did reply, not at all to Blaines surprise, Kurt shook his head signalling "no" and if his facial emotion was anything to go by, he was far from okay.

"C'mere" Blaine whispered as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around Kurts shoulders as Kurt, without hesitation, snuggled into his side, clutching tightly at Blaines shirt with his hand.

"Love you" Kurt murmered sadly against the fabric of Blaines shirt as Blaine kissed the top of his forehead, running his hand up and down his arm in an attempt to offer some comfort.

"You too" he replied. Blaine was fully aware that there was probably nothing that he could say right now that would offer Kurt any reassurance. This wasn't Burts first heart attack and from previous conversations, he knew how scared and alone Kurt had felt at that time and so Blaine knew that as well as being completely terrified, he sensed as though a feeling of resignment had washed over Kurt this time, like bad things were always destined to happen to their family and so even though words probably wouldn't do much right now, Blaine hoped his actions would remind Kurt that he was there and always would be there.

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><p><strong>So I hope you enjoyed the preview - let me know what you thought and I promise, the rest is on the way soon - asap! Lots of love! xxx<strong>


	19. Chapter 17 FULL

**Authors Note - I AM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! Like literally, i cannot even begin to apologise for how long this has taken me - I'm literally so disappointed in myself that this has taken me like 6 months - Im literally so disappointed with myself and i promise you, even though i only have two more chapters to write after this one, they will not take me anywhere near that long - I'll make sure of it!**  
><strong>Life has just been so crazy that writing this was so hard to fit in! My Summer was crazy (Jesus i'm writing about Summer in December!), I told you guys about my new laptop for uni so i spent like a month trying to change everything over, over summer I was also trying to organise everything for university and I had to sort out my job up here because yes, since I last updated, I have moved to University! Massive changes but it's been amazing so far but with university has come a HUGE workload which hasn't helped at all in me trying to finish this chapter but in the last couple of weeks, i've managed to find a balance in how i can keep up with my writing and doing my work AND going to work and literally right now, I'm in the middle of house hunting for somewhere to live next year so my life is just hectic right now but hopefully i can keep up this routine i've got!:) I'm literally just finished C17 at like 3am and I'm writing this at like 4:30am because my lecturers are actually striking tomorrow so I have a day off...which is going to be spent in the library! <strong>

**So also, in Summer as ofc you all know, Cory sadly passed away (idk about you guys but I didn't stop crying for a week afterwards - I was so shook up about it I even stopped writing this chapter because I was just greiving so much!) but i want to clarify that in this story, Finn won't die! **

**So seeing as it has been sososososo long, as a short recap, in C16, we had Kurt making the video tape for his baby brother/sister, the fluffiness of Blaines 20th Birthday (sidenote -it's my 20th birthday in 9 days IM SO OLD!), Kurt had his last chemoradiotherpay session, Kurt took Blaine to visit his mum for the first time and ofc, I left you guys on the worst cliffhanger with Burt and his heart attack! **

**BUT im pretty certain you guys are going to be happy with C17 - I mean it's taken me long enough! BUT it is a WHOPPING 14,356 words - pretty sure that's the longest chapter I've ever wrote; even longer than the fundraiser chapter! Theres so much going on in this chapter, lots of cute moments that i gave myself cavities writing and a scene near the end that im sure a lot of you will be very happy with seeing as a lot of you have asked me to do this BUT none of you have influenced me to write this - this has been my plan from the very beginning! (i'm sure you'll figure out what storyline I'm on about when you get to it)**

**Also, thank you so much guys for sticking with me, i really do appreciate it and seriously, this story will never be abandoned - I will finish it! And thank you to those of you who have alerted and favourited recently - seeing those emails comes through always makes me so happy!:)**

**SO get a cup of tea or coffee and some biscuits and go enjoy C17! You're gonna be here a while!**

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><p>"I'm fine godamnit!" Burt protested from the passenger seat of the car that was being driven by Carole at a speed that was slightly, but very clearly over the legal limit. "For the seventh time, I don't need to go to the hospital!"<p>

"Clearly you've suffered a case of amnesia as well as the heart attack in the last fifteen minutes because are you forgetting you had another heart attack just over a year ago?" Carole said through gritted teeth, clearly getting more and more stressed as more minutes passed and her husband was still protesting like a five year old in the seat beside her. "You would be stupid and irresponsible to not go see a doctor right now."

Kurt and Blaine sat silently in the back seat, their eyes darting backwards and forwards as they watched the two adults bicker backwards and forwards. Ever since they had walked through the front door and witnessed the startling scene in front of them, not even half an hour ago, Kurt had stayed impossibly silent.

_As Carole asked either of them to call the hospital whilst she stayed impossibly by Burts' side, running her hand up and down his back as he leant against the back of the sofa, catching his breath as the dull pressure on his chest and the shooting pains down his arm and neck slowly but surely subsided, Kurt didn't move an inch. Couldn't move an inch. He'd barely even registered that Blaine had been on the phone for almost 5 minutes now. _

_"Yes. Yes. I'm not sure how long it lasted - my boyfriend and I walked in as - Okay, his wife's just told me it only lasted around a minute and a half, maybe two. He's a little short of breath but nothing like he was a few minutes ago. Okay. Yep. Yep we're leaving now. Thank you so much for your help." Blaine pressed the 'end' button on the screen of his phone, promptly ending the call. He hadn't even put his phone back in his pocket before he lifted his head, saying "we have to go - they want us to go up there right now" to Burt and Carole. _

_Although he appeared physically fine and much better than he had a few minutes ago, Carole still wound her arm around Burts' waist, supporting him as they walked out of the front door, Carole picking up her handbag and car keys and Burt protesting his physical fitness along the way. Despite not having emptied his pockets the whole ten minutes they had been home, out of habit, Blaine patted his pockets to make sure he still had everything he might need and as he was just about ready to walk out of the door, Kurt still had yet to move. _

_"Kurt?" Blaine cooed. The gentle touch of Blaines hand against Kurts arm was the first thing Kurt had physically responded to since they had walked through the front door. He slowly turned his head towards Blaine, his eyes red rimmed and his bottom lip slightly pouting outwards. Kurt looked at Blaine with such vulnerability that instantly made him look ten years younger, almost like a scared little boy and Blaine could have died right there and then because the sight was nothing short of completely and utterly heart-breaking. _

_"Come on babe, we need to go". Kurt didn't even respond, nod - nothing, as Blaine, with a reassuring arm around Kurts' waist, guided them out of the front door and opened the car door for them both. _

"Hey" Blaine softly nudged Kurt with the side of his body. As Kurt turned to face him, his face stoic but his tear stained cheeks confessing everything, Blaine offered him the warmest of smiles, a reassurance that he was there and always would be there. "Are you okay?"

Kurts' eyes dropped as he didn't reply instantly. He slightly bowed his head before raising it back up, meeting Blaines' eyes and when he did reply, not at all to Blaines' surprise, Kurt shook his head signalling "no" and if his facial emotion was anything to go by, he was far from okay.

"C'mere" Blaine whispered as he lifted his arm and wrapped it around Kurts' shoulders as Kurt, without hesitation, snuggled into his side, clutching tightly at Blaines' shirt with his hand.

"Love you" Kurt murmured sadly against the fabric of Blaines' shirt as Blaine kissed the top of his forehead, running his hand up and down his arm in an attempt to offer some comfort.

"You too" he replied. Blaine was fully aware that there was probably nothing that he could say right now that would offer Kurt any reassurance. This wasn't Burts' first heart attack and from previous conversations, he knew how scared and alone Kurt had felt at that time and so Blaine knew that as well as being completely terrified, he sensed as though a feeling of resignation had washed over Kurt this time, like bad things were always destined to happen to their family and so even though words probably wouldn't do much right now, Blaine hoped his actions would remind Kurt that he was there and always would be there.

They arrived at the hospital moments later, quickly parking the car into the nearest available space. They all walked quickly through the doors, Carole practically running towards the reception desk to check her husband in, the words spilling out quicker than running water from a faucet. It wasn't even thirty seconds before Burt and Carole were being guided through a set of double doors by a tall, young male doctor who sharply turned his head round to Kurt and Blaine to call out "We'll call for you both later on" before walking further into the distance of the corridor until all three of them were gone.

The minutes passed by so slowly. It seemed as though every time Kurt looked at the clock, even though it felt as though at least 15 minutes had passed, only two had. He had originally started by pacing up and down the small but open area for several minutes, running his fingers through his hair and tapping his shaking fingers against his mouth before settling down in one the blue plastic chairs next to Blaine. Blaine had rung Finn to fill him in on what had happened, reassuring him he didn't need to come down and that he would keep him up to date and in between, had made two separate coffee runs in the time they had been waiting and both for Kurts' cups sat on the table in front of him, left to go stone cold, feeling too sick to consume anything. The people that occupied the chairs around them were constantly changing, a cycle of new faces every so often, some of them going home with relieved smiles on their faces, some of them not. This was the first time in nearly an hour that they were completely alone and the first time in nearly an hour either one of them spoke.

"It's been nearly an hour" Kurt stated sadly as he stared into the distance at a set of double doors, the same double doors his father had walked through some time ago. Blaine looked up from the home improvement magazine he had picked up from the pile of reading sources on the table beside him but really had no interest in reading. Even if he wanted to or had been the slightest bit interested in ten ways to make your living room appear larger, his mind really wasn't able to process anything he read right now.

"I know babe" he replied.

"We should have heard something by now right?" Kurt asked as he turned to Blaine.

"They probably just want to cover every aspect they possibly can" Blaine offered. "You know, to make sure they can rule anything else out and to make sure they treat him with the right medication."

"Yeah" Kurt sighed. He nervously tapped his fingertips together in front of him before speaking again. "But, I mean, he was fine right?" His voice was starting to crack, almost as if he was pleading with himself, telling himself what he needed more than anything to be true. "He was walking and talking, and fighting even - what could possibly be taking so long?"

"Kurt, honey -" Blaine pulled Kurt into his side as soon as he saw Kurt close his eyelids, trying in vain to push the tears away.

"I just need to know he's going to be okay" Kurt cried softly into Blaine's side. "Like really okay. I can't go through this again Blaine, I just, I can't."

"I know" Blaine said as he kissed the top of Kurt's forehead, still running his finger through his hair. "But your dad is going to be fine. You saw him, he was still the same, stubborn old Burt I've had the honour of knowing for nearly two years when we arrived -" Blaine joked which got a soft chuckle out of Kurt through his tears. " - But whatever happens - " Blaine lifted his arm from around Kurt's shoulder and Kurt lifted his head, both of them now facing each other, holding the others hand in between them. " - One thing I do know is that I'm going to be right here with you okay? You're not going to have to go through this feeling like you're alone this time okay? I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere" Blaine promised.

Kurt looked at Blaine with such love and awe that he couldn't help but lean his forehead against Blaine's, lacing and entwining their fingers together as he moved.

"Sometimes I don't know what I would do or where I would even be without you" Kurt whispered into the small space between them, his breath warm on Blaine's face. Blaine smiled softly, gently closing his eyelids as he revelled happily in the moment between them.

"I know the exact feeling."

"I was so scared earlier" Kurt confessed quietly as he pulled away but keeping the distance between them infinitely small, his eyes never leaving Blaine's.

"I know. It's _okay_" Blaine reassured.

"I just froze" Kurt said in such a tone that made it sound like he was ashamed of his reaction. "I just, I didn't know what to do or think, I - "

"It's okay Kurt. You were in shock.

"I should have been there for him. Like 'been there' been there."

"You were! And you're here now aren't you?" Blaine smiled. "Please don't beat yourself up about this. Your Dad had a heart attack - I mean, going into shock is perfectly normal."

"I guess" Kurt slightly nodded his head. "You know, all I could think in the car on the way here is 'maybe this is just how our lives are going to go'." Blaine's eyes slightly squinted and he tilted his head - a sign Kurt recognised as that he should elaborate. "Like bolts of lightning full of crap thing are constantly striking us. First it was my mum dying, then Dads first heart attack and then him going into the coma, then there's me, not ever out of my teen years and I've got cancer and now this? It just feels like it never ends" Kurt sighed as he ran his free hand that wasn't entwined with Blaine's over his face.

"You're right" Blaine agreed. "I mean, they're all awful, terrible things that could ever happen to a family but you know, the bad never comes without the good stuff as well" Blaine smiled hopefully. "Like your dad and Carole meeting, getting married, you got a brother out of Finn and you're about to have another brother or sister and, well, I know that I count my lucky stars every day because I found you." Kurt facial expression completely melted, his shoulders dropped and his face tilted slightly as he sat in such awe of the man in front of him, both of them with nothing but expressions of love on their face. "The bad, it sucks - in fact, it completely and totally goes beyond that, it's just outright painful and heart breaking but when the good stuff comes along, it makes everything worth it."

"Seriously how do you do it? How do you always know exactly what to say?"

"It's part of the job description for 'best boyfriend' "Blaine joked, tossing away hair that wasn't there. "Besides, a magician never revels his tricks." His attempts to lighten the sombre mood instantly took effect as for the first time in what felt like forever, Kurt scoffed so loudly and collapsed into Blaines shoulder laughing. It was so infectious that Blaine couldn't help but laugh along with him.

"You're such a dork" Kurt smiled. "My dork." Kurt added as they smiled softly at each other.

"Do you ever feel guilty for laughing in places like hospitals?" Blaine asked after a few seconds of comfortable silence between the two of them.

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed. "Because you feel like you shouldn't. Because the majority of the time, they are such a morbid place to -"

"Kurt Hummel? Blaine Anderson?" The boys heads shot up as a young male nurse called out their names into the reception area.

"Hi, I'm Kurt and this is Blaine" Kurt introduced as they walked up to the man with a hurried pace. "Where's my dad?"

"Your dad is just fine" the man reassured. "I'm here to take you both to where he and your stepmom are." The nurse smiled as he started to lead the way. "The results are back from the lab and so the doctor is ready to discuss them with your Dad but your Dad was adamant that you both be there too. He knows how worried you both must have been."

"See" Blaine whispered to Kurt, silencing Kurts' earlier fears about not feeling like he had really been there for his dad earlier on. Kurt smiled softly in return before taking Blaines' hand in his, clutching it tightly as they walked. The three of them made small talk as they weaved in and out of the colourless corridors, passing many doors where patients lay on the other side (maybe they were getting better and maybe they weren't) before the nurse opened a single door for them and as they walked into the room, Burt and Carole were sat in two chairs directly in front of the desk.

"Dad!" Kurt exclaimed before they had even fully walked into the room, rushing over to Burt and wrapping his arms around him, giving Burt the tightest hug Kurt hadn't given him in a while. Blaine offered a 'thank you' to the nurse before shutting the door behind him, smiling at Carole as they watched the intimate father/son moment unfold in front of them.

"What happened? What took so long?" Kurt asked as he and Blaine stood behind Burt and Carole as there were no spare chairs available, apart from the doctors.

"Your dad had a few tests done. One of them being an Electrocardiograph" Carole started to explain.

"I had electrodes all over my body! On my chest, arms, legs. I've never seen so many wires on a person!" Burt exclaimed.

"They also took a small blood test to determine the amount of damage that could have been done to the heart and they also took an ultrasound to try and build a picture of the inside of the heart to see if there has been any damage, where exactly it is and if it's affected the hearts functioning at all."

"So they're certain it was a... a heart attack?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"Hey" Burt said as he gently placed his hand on Kurt's arm, not missing the sadness in his voice. "I'm breathing aren't I?" Burt smiled. "Everything is going to be okay."

Before Kurt had a chance to reply, the door handle clicked and the door swung open.

"Ah" The doctor breathed out as he entered the room. "All here I see. Dr Jensen" the man smiled as he held out his hand to shake Kurt and Blaine's.

"Kurt" Kurt introduced himself as he shook the doctor's hand. "I'm his son and this is Blaine, my boyfriend."

"Lovely to meet you both, even under such circumstances." The doctor didn't miss how quickly Kurt's face turned pale and how much his eyes widened. "Nothing bad, I promise. I just mean, being in a hospital" Kurt nodded. "But that is actually the good news I've come to talk to you all about. Your results - all clear."

An excited buzz filled the air as the anxiety instantly slipped out of everyone's systems, breathing out huge sighs of relief, each of them smiling wider than they had all day.

"From what I can gather from the results, Burt did indeed suffer a heart attack but on a medical scale, it was an extremely tiny, miniscule one - nothing life threatening at all but from what I can gather, the most likely cause of it was probably brought on by stress. Were you engaging in any stressful activity before it happened?" Dr Jensen asked.

"Isn't arguing with your wife always stressful?" Burt joked and the two men chuckled slightly however Carole clearly didn't see the funny side of things, neither did Kurt or Blaine.

"From what you've told me and considering your past medical history, this sounds like something that has been building up given the circumstances - worrying about your son, working longer hours, _arguing_ about said longer hours - it all contributes and if you're not cautious, things like this can happen. You need to think of it as your body sending you a message that something isn't right and also with your medical history, it is right to be concerned. But there are a few simple things we can do in terms of altering your lifestyle habits to prevent this from occurring again and having much more dire consequences, so firstly, I would recommend less hours at work - lessen the load on your shoulders. I understand you're the manager of your business but surely you have an assistant manager who is able to hold things up for you too?"

"We were having that exact conversation right before...well...you know" Carole trailed off.

"I see" Doctor Jensen replied.

"I did have an assistant manager but he recently left, just a few months back and well, I guess I've just been too preoccupied recently to hire another one" Burt sighed.

"I understand" Doctor Jensen sympathised. "I understand the family is going through a difficult, stressful time right now but, don't you think now more than ever, your son and also your wife who is just over five months pregnant I understand, don't you think they need you at the top of your game?" Everyone stayed deadly silent as the words mulled over in their heads.

"Look, like I said, all of your results in this circumstance, are very positive. You're on a good track. It's clear that your wife and son are doing a good job keeping your diet in order and look, I'm a doctor, not a prison guard - it's okay to have a burger once in a while, just so long as it is in moderation" Doctor Jensen smiled. "I'm signing you off for the next month" he said with such a definitive finality tone to his voice. Before Burt could even lift his finger and open his mouth to protest, Doctor Jensen continued, "_That _is _not _up for debate. You need to fully recover. So please, keep going with your eating plan, take short walks to build your strength back up, get one of your guys to cover your job and please - " Doctor Jensen ripped off a prescription he had been writing and handed it to Burt, " - just take it easy. Things won't fall apart at work if you're not there and besides, we live in the 21st century! You can be there without actually physically being there but I need you to take this month off, take it easy and then if I'm happy with your condition in a month's times, I'll sign you off. If you feel any aches or pains or whatever in the time being, don't hesitate to call or come in."

Handshakes and expressions of gratitude were exchanged between the five of them before Burt, Carole, Kurt and Blaine left Doctor Jensen alone in his office and made their way home, relieved and beyond grateful that this day hadn't ended in some other tragic way.

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><p>"So, last ever treatment!" Burt exclaimed from the driver's seat. Today was indeed, Wednesday 28th November - the date of Kurt's last chemoradiotherapy session. It had been a little under a week since Burt's heart attack and already, he was finding himself restless and going near stir crazy, what with not having work to do every day and so he absolutely <em>insisted <em>on dropping Kurt and Blaine to the clinic, even if that was all he done. "How are you feeling bud?"

"Weird" Kurt contemplated. "It's surreal but you know, it might not exactly be my last treatment session. That's probably why I'm not as excited."

"You know you just have to try and stay positive" Blaine smiled back at Kurt from where he was sitting in the front passenger seat.

"I am. I mean, I am staying positive. But I'm also being realistic" Kurt stated.

"Gosh can you believe it's 3 days until December!" Burt exclaimed as a prolonged silence fell over them, swiftly changing the subject into something more positive. "We're like three or four weeks away from Christmas!"

"I love Christmas" Kurt sighed happily.

"Me too" Blaine echoed. "Everything is just so festive and happy."

"Yeah" Kurt agreed. "I love going into shops and literally everywhere is playing Christmas music, everyone says 'Merry Christmas' to each other, there's snow on the ground, putting up the Christmas tree and all the decorations, Christmas traditions, going Christmas shopping- I just love it!" Kurt exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah and then within a few hours, it's all over" Burt mocked.

"But the build-up is so worth it" Kurt argued.

"Well just think, this time next year, you'll have a little brother or sister to pass on your Christmas excitement too" Burt said. Kurt didn't bother saying what he was actually thinking, that what if he wasn't even around next year. Instead, he settled with replying with a simple "yeah". It was only as the car pulled to a stop that he realised they were already at the clinic.

"Okay, I'll be back to pick you guys up at 2" Burt said.

"You're not coming in?" Kurt asked, completely confused. Blaine too had a look of total confusion on his face.

"Nah. I figured you both would want to do this yourselves. You know, start together, end together kind of thing" Burt smiled.

"You're - are you sure?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah. I have a few things to sort out at home anyway" Burt shrugged off.

"Okay" Kurt gave in. "Well, you know if you change your mind or anything, you know where we are."

"Go kiddo otherwise you're going to be late!" Burt said, practically forcing the two of them out of the car with his voice, leaving no room to question the matter any longer.

Kurt had to admit, it did feel somewhat strange walking through the automatic doors, the same ones he had spent nearly the last six months walking in and out of. He almost felt, dare he admit it, a sense of finality - like maybe this would be the last time he would have to walk through them. But he also wasn't stupid - he knew he had to be realistic about this, about the fact that after this last treatment and the next set of results, anything could happen.

"Kurt! Blaine" Steph exclaimed as she walked down towards the reception area, a clipboard held tightly in her grasp. "Right on time guys! I just have to finish up with my patient and then I'll be with you guys. You know the drill by now."

"Sign in and settle in?" Kurt smiled.

"Got it in one" Steph winked as she finished writing out something at the reception desk. "Amy will see you through your Radiotherapy and then as soon as you're done, you know where to go guys and I'll be with you as soon as I'm finished." She turned to walk back in the direction she had come from before stopping. "Hey Kurt!" she whispered loudly down the corridor, Kurt and Blaine lifting their heads from where they were currently signing their names into the sign in book. "Last treatment!" she exclaimed excitedly, complete with a thumbs up. Kurt returned the bright smile and the thumbs up she sent his way but as soon as she turned her back, the smile faded, his expression more turning to one of worry than happiness.

As always, the radiotherapy was quick, simple and completely painless and so they made their way to their usual room and as they settled down into their respective seats, Steph came bounding into the room, a wide smile on her face.

"Sooo -" she started as she bounced into the room. Kurt was so thankful that Steph had been his nurse throughout this whole ordeal because on days where he felt completely dejected, like a raincloud was constantly hovering about him, Steph was like the brightest ray on sunshine that always chased it away, keeping him positive when some days he really didn't feel it. "How are you feeling today?"

"Good" Kurt replied honestly. "Neutral."

"Trying not to get too excited at the prospect of this being your last treatment session?" Steph asked as she set up all the machines.

"Yeah. I just - I want to take it one step at a time, you know. I don't want to get too ahead of myself and start thinking something that might not even be true" Kurt sighed.

The soft whirring of the machine started to purr to life as Steph got up from where she was currently crouched on the floor.

"So wise beyond your years" she pondered as she looked at Kurt. "Just know that it's okay to be happy about the prospect though - even if it isn't a confirmed thing yet. And plus, I'm sending all my positive thoughts and energy your way so you have that on your side" she smiled which made Kurt smile in return.

"Thanks Steph" he smiled.

"Anytime honey. Okay, well, you know the drill by now!" Steph said as she clapped her hands together. "I'll pop in every so often to make sure everything's okay, okay?" she smiled before turning on her heels and walking out of the door.

"I'm really going to miss seeing her" Blaine thought aloud, his eyes focused on the open doorway.

"Yeah. Me too" Kurt replied. And he would because out of this whole ordeal, meeting Steph and having her being assigned as his nurse had been one of the best things to come out of all of this and whether he only lived to be 20 or 80, Kurt would always be so grateful that this woman had been his nurse and caregiver.

* * *

><p>Despite Kurt deciding to take the realistic route in viewing todays session, there was still a somewhat sombre mood in the air as Burt drove the two boys home that afternoon because as much as he willed himself to keep looking at things in a realistic manner, Kurt had to admit, he did feel a sense of finality in things, despite Stephs best efforts to not make it feel that way as they parted ways minutes earlier as she explained what would happen over the next few days.<p>

_"Okay so we've scheduled your check up appointment for next Monday which is the 3rd December. Obviously as you know, today was your last session and so you've had the eight courses of Chemoradiotherapy your doctor arranged with you in September." Kurt nodded as he listened to Steph. "So this check-up session is basically exactly the same as the last one. It's the same process. We'll start off with the CT scan so we can get a clear picture as to what's going on inside your body and how the cancer cells have reacted to the change in treatment, both in terms of the course of the treatment and the intensity because of course the chemoradiotherapy sessions have been a lot more intense on your body than the chemotherapy sessions. Then, we'll take some blood samples from you which again, is to just help us get an idea of how your body is reacting and then that's it. Because you don't have any more sessions booked as of now, you'll be as free as a bird" Steph smiled excitedly. "Right, come on, give me a hug!" Steph smiled brightly as she waved her arms at Kurt. The two of them really had created quite a special bond over these last six months. "So I'm not going to say goodbye, especially as I'm going to see you on Monday - " Steph started to say as they pulled away from the embrace, " -but I've got a feeling about this Kurt" she smiled sincerely. Kurt didn't quite know what to say to that. He so desperately didn't want to get his hopes up and express those hopes out loud - saying it out loud made it more real and so he settled with offering her a genuinely warm smile back. _

_"Don't think you're leaving without a hug too" Steph warned Blaine as she opened her arms to embrace him too, the two of them swaying slightly from side to side. "I'll see you both on Monday okay" she smiled brightly before the two of them walked out of the double doors to meet Burt in the car park._

The days following after Kurt's treatment session passed by in pretty much in the same way they had done for the last six months. As expected, Kurt spent much of late Wednesday night/Thursday morning and all day Thursday in pretty much the same state he spent the few consecutive days after a treatment session - tired, vomiting and just in just pure physical, emotional and mental pain. His first bout of sickness struck him around fourteen and a half hours after his chemoradiotherapy session. It was nearing half four in the morning, the sky was pitch black and the street lamps were still lighting the darkened roads outside, creating an orange glow in the room. The house was dead silent bar the faint sounds of Burt and Finn's snoring trailing out of their rooms when Kurt woke up. His eyes shot open as he started to feel that unwelcome, familiar stirring in his stomach. Without trying to disturb Blaine too much who was fast asleep beside him, he threw his share of the duvet backwards, swung his legs over the bed and quickly ran barefoot across the room to the bathroom, closing the door slightly ajar so that the light didn't filter into the bedroom too much before Kurt couldn't help it any longer - he quickly sunk to his knees as he started to heave relentlessly into the toilet. All Kurt could focus on was when the next wave would hit him as he closed his eyes and tried to regain his breathing; he didn't know how much time had passed and he hadn't even registered someone else was in the room until he felt the familiar, comforting hand on his back and the comforting scent of Blaine.

"I'm sorry if I woke you" Kurt croaked out, his voice gravelly from an unwelcome combination of sleep and sickness. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"You didn't" Blaine gently assured. "I woke up and you weren't there. Guy gets kind of lonely and restless when you're not next to me." Although his head was leaning against his arm across the toilet seat, Blaine could see the upturns in Kurt's mouth and he heard the small snort as Kurt laughed softly. The feeling of happiness didn't last long though as within seconds, another wave of vomit hit Kurt like a tidal force.

"It's okay babe. It's okay" Blaine cooed as he rubbed soothing circles into Kurt's back and tucked his hair behind his ears. It just didn't stop. It just kept coming out of Kurt like water gushing out of a tap.

"I swear to all that is holy -" Kurt groaned as he gripped the toilet seat tightly to balance himself, his head hanging just above the hole, " - I will give _anything _for this to be the last time I have to go through this."

"I know babe. Me too" Blaine agreed sadly as he continued rubbing soothing patterns into Kurt's back but before he knew it, the sound of vomit echoed around the room as Kurt started to throw up once again. It had been around about twenty minutes in total of intervals of sickness before finally, Kurt caught a break and felt like he could sit up and breathe again.

"Here - drink some water" Blaine said as he offered Kurt a glass of it.

"Thank you" Kurt croaked out, coughing to clear his throat before taking a long sip. Blaine sunk down to the floor, taking a seat besides Kurt against the wall. "I know I always tell you and I know you're probably going to say I don't have to but, thank you" Kurt said earnestly as he looked Blaine in the eyes. "I mean, it's nearly 5am and here you are -" Kurt said as he gestured towards the small bathroom window to emphasise his point, the sky having gradually turned into a dark blue since they had been in there, the beginnings of the day becoming more and more evident. "- helping me, comforting me, getting me water and just, being with me."

"You really should know by now that, I would do _anything _for you Kurt."

"I do know."

You're kind of stuck with me" Blaine shrugged.

"Well I can't think of anyone I'd rather be stuck too more" Kurt joked. "But honestly, even if I'm too busy upchucking my entire stomach, everything you do, it means _everything _to me."

Blaine smiled softly before leaning across to kiss Kurt's temple. Kurt eyes closed and a small smile spread across his face as he basked in the moment of warmth, comfort and just feeling like he was at _home_. Even in times like this, nothing felt more right than being with the man sitting next to him.

"I love you so much" Kurt whispered softly between them.

"I love you too" Blaine sighed happily as he leant his head against Kurt's. The two of them didn't move for at least another hour as they watched the sun start to rise through the window. Although both of them felt their eyes start to drop at times, neither of them were particularly desperate to go back to bed or do disturb the serene moment they were currently sharing. They had nowhere to be and nothing to do tomorrow - they could sleep then.

* * *

><p>The days flew by and Monday came around quicker than any of them could have fathomed and within an hour, Kurt's check-up session was over and done with. The session went smoothly and having been through the same procedure less than two months ago, it was less daunting this time around Kurt felt somewhat, relaxed this time around. Burt and Blaine didn't leave his side as Steph conducted the blood tests and X Rays and as sad as Kurt was to say an unofficial goodbye to Steph, he felt more than glad and completely relieved that the check-up was over. For around two weeks, as hard as it might be as it was quite unforgettable, he didn't have to think about cancer or think about his next chemoradiotherapy session or taking pills to relieve the pain from his treatments. For almost two weeks, Kurt could pretend that there was nothing wrong with him at all. He could pretend that he was a healthy eighteen year old boy.<p>

And that hurt. Kurt didn't want to pretend anymore. He didn't want those things to be some far away fantasy anymore. He wanted them to be real.

"I'm proud of you kiddo" Burt proclaimed as he slammed the drivers door shut, Kurt and Blaine piling out of the car too, having just pulled up to the house.

"For having two lots of blood taken out of my body and lying on a bed whilst a machine scanned over my body? Thanks Dad!" Kurt joked.

"Smart ass" Burt joked as Kurt and Blaine giggled between them at the banter between Kurt and his dad. "You know what I mean and I don't just mean today. I'm proud of you every single day and every moment I breathe but these last few months, in times where a lot of people, especially people your age, would understandably crumble, you've handled it with such courage for someone your age and, I'm proud of you" Burt praised his son as the three of them walked through the threshold of the Hummel-Hudson home and into the living room.

"Thanks Dad. Really" Kurt said softly.

"SO -" Burt exclaimed as he clapped his hands together, "- That's why we have a surprise for you."

"We?" Kurt questioned. On cue, Carole rounded the corner, out of the kitchen where she had clearly been hiding and into the living room, holding something behind her back.

"What are you two up to?" Kurt smiled nervously as his eyes darted between his parents. "Do you know what this is?" he asked Blaine.

"No clue" Blaine replied, looking equally as confused at the two of them.

"Okay so both of you, close your eyes and hold out your hands" Carole instructed them, smiling brightly at them. They did as they were told and whatever was in their hands right now wasn't heavy at all. It felt so weightless that they weren't too sure they were holding whatever their surprise was yet.

"Open!" Burt and Carole both squealed.

As the two of them opened their eyes, they suspiciously eyed the envelopes that had been placed in both of their hands. They looked at each other, as if searching for more answers to which neither of them actually had any to offer.

"Kurt, why don't you open yours first" Burt suggested. Kurt carefully opened the envelope, his finger running across the glued seal and as he pulled out the contents, his eyes widened wider than any of them had seen in so long, a huge gasp leaving his mouth.

"New York?" Kurt said incredulously as in his hands, in black and white print, were two premium economy, adult tickets, printed with both of their names to New York City. "Tickets to New York? Are you serious!?" He squealed excitedly. This had to be a dream.

"You leave Thursday morning and fly back Sunday night" Burt confirmed.

"Blaine why don't you open your envelope now" Carole nudged. Blaine smiled and whispered a small "okay", eager to see what was inside after the first surprise.

"Tickets to Kinky Boots. Tickets to a real Broadway show?!" Blaine gasped and Kurt was practically squirming next to him. They knew both of them felt the exact same way - like a child let loose in a toy store who's Christmases had all come at once.

"We got you tickets for the Saturday night showing. We wanted you to have something that you both could enjoy on your last night." Carole smiled. "Now of course you'll have things on Christmas day but this is kind of an early Christmas present from both myself and Burt but also from your parents, Blaine. Most of all though, it's a little vacation for you both" Carole smiled. "Kurt, for the last six months, you've had to deal with something most people you're age cannot even fathom to begin to deal with and although you're already so mature, you've had to grow up a lot and really quickly these past few months and whilst your friends have been able to start their lives in college or wherever, we know you've missed out on that. And Blaine, you too have grown up a lot these past few months. For someone who was 19 when this started, you've acted way beyond your years. You took time out of school to be here, you organised a whole fundraiser event and not once have you crumbled under pressure or given up and decided it's too much for you to handle - you've been selfless and caring and we can't thank you enough. You've both had to give up a lot these last few months and we just want you guys to be 18 and 20 again. Go, be young and have fun!"

"Thank you" Kurt breathed. "Thank you so much" he suddenly launched at them, situating himself in between his parents as he wrapped his arms around them, tears in his eyes. Blaine wasn't far behind to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! We need to go call your parents!" Kurt squealed as he turned to Blaine. It was so refreshing to the three of them to see him so excited about something. The next two and a bit days were going to drag slower than anything.

* * *

><p>"New York Blaine! Can you believe it? We're here! In New York!" Kurt exclaimed as the two of them walked through the 'arrivals' doors of Newark airport and straight out into New York City. Since that very morning when Burt, Carole and Finn dropped them off at the departures gate just as the sun was starting to rise and throughout the whole plane ride, the excitement practically radiated off of them. They didn't watch any films or any of the in-flight entertainment available to them, opting instead to take goofy selfies of each other and together and to just talk: talking about everything they wanted to do and everything they wanted to see in the precious few days they had in such an amazing city. But before their adventure could truly start, first they needed to get to the hotel. They stepped to the side of the road, people around them piling their luggage into mixture of relatives' cars and taxis they had hailed. Blaine put his thumb and forefinger to his mouth, whistling loudly before holding his arm up to signal to the taxi he had just managed to hail to where he and Kurt stood.<p>

"I've always wanted to do that" Blaine said proudly as he turned to Kurt, a smile of accomplishment on his face. Kurt smiled brightly as she shook he head at his boyfriend before the two of them, with the added pair of hands of their driver, piled their luggage into the boot of the taxi and set off into the city. As they drove into the city, their eyes never left their respective windows, taking in all of the sights around them whilst their hands lay comfortably intertwined between them.

"So is this your first time in New York?" their driver, whose name was Greg, asked them as he peered at them through his rear view mirror.

"Yeah" they both echoed at the same time.

"Well, enjoy it boys! So much to do and see here - It really is the city that never sleeps!"

"How long have you lived here?" Kurt asked.

"Coming up 17 years now. Came here after high school, met my wife here and now we have two beautiful children, living in a beautiful city and I've never looked back" Greg smiled through his mirror as he expertly navigated his way through the New York City traffic.

"I'd love to move here one day" Kurt revealed to Greg. He and Blaine had already talked about moving to New York one day in their future together, especially seeing as Kurt had his sights set on studying at somewhere like Parsons or Pratt but with everything that had happened over the last few months, they hadn't visited those dreams as often.

"Good for you kid. They don't call New York 'The city of dreams' for nothing." The car came to a sudden halt as they pulled up outside of the hotel. Greg insisted on getting their luggage out of the car for them, insisting that they "take it all in", for in Greg's words "there's nothing quite like seeing Times Square for the very first time." They paid (and generously tipped) Greg before he wished them a happy vacation and a good Christmas and drove off into the bustling city. Burt and Carole had put them up in The DoubleTree Suites, right in the heart of Times Square and as they walked into the foyer of the hotel, the gasps that left their mouths were unmistakeable. To put it simply, it was huge. The floor was immaculate, a glistening white shade of marble. Chandelier like lighting fixtures hung from the ceiling, creating a warm, inviting glow in the reception area. The check in desk was longer than anything they had ever seen before, with a gorgeous grey draping fixture as the check in back drop and clearly embracing in the Christmas spirit, two huge twenty foot Christmas trees that were beautifully decorated lay either side of the check in desk as light Christmas music played softly throughout the room. It was safe to say that they were off to a good start. A young, friendly woman named Jen checked them into their room, welcoming them to both the hotel and the city as she tapped their details into the computer before handing over their key card to them. As their room was on the twenty seventh floor and the fact they were still ladened down with all of their luggage, taking the elevator was the clear winning choice and after what felt like an eternity, the elevator finally 'dinged' and the doors opened. They eventually found their door on the long corridor, room 371A, excitement and anticipation buzzing through their veins.

"Three, two, one" they counted excitedly before pushing the door open to reveal what exactly lay behind it. Their mouths dropped open and Blaine didn't even register that is the handle of his hand luggage bag had slipped from his shoulder. Shocked didn't even begin to describe how they felt.

"I want to live here forever" Kurt breathed.

To say their room was amazing was nothing short of an understatement. Their 'room' was more like their own mini house! As they first walked into the room, they were greeted with their own living area, complete with a two seater sofa, an armchair, a huge flatscreen TV and a dining table, seated for six people. Being on the twenty seventh floor clearly had its advantages too because as they looked out of their window, they had the most glorious sight of Times Square. Off to the side of their living room was their bedroom where they had yet another TV, a king sized bed that had been immaculately made (there were even welcome chocolates on the pillows!) and a desk near the window, overlooking the sights. On top of all of this, they had one small bathroom in their living area and one huge en suite bathroom, with both a bathtub and a shower cubicle and two sinks.

"Remind me when we get home to give my undying gratitude to our parents" Blaine laughed in disbelief.

"If we ever actually make it home because I'm not sure I'll ever want to leave here, count me in on that one" Kurt agreed.

They spent the afternoon unpacking their things and making the room more homely and more _them _with their possesions and once they had both finished unpacking the necessities they needed, they snuggled up on the sofa to watch some TV. Feeling the effects of travelling across the country, they opted for ordering room service on their first night but it was nothing short of perfect as they had a candlelight dinner, ate beautifully cooked meals whilst overlooking the sight of the lights of Times Square twinkling all around and lighting up their darkened room. Despite being completely exhausted from the day's events, they both went to bed that night with huge smiles spread across their faces.

After setting off from the hotel early Friday morning and finding breakfast in a quaint little patisserie they found as they wondered the streets of New York, they simply spent the day exploring the city. They had managed to buy all day tickets for one of the 'hop on - hop off' tour buses so they could pick and choose where they wanted to go and how long they wanted to stay and explore. They saw all the sights that New York had to offer them ranging from the Empire State building to the Ground Zero memorial site to the Flatiron building and so much more and of course, their shared love of the performing arts inevitably led them to Radio City and Carnegie Hall. They were currently on one of the many streets lined with shop after shop. They walked in and out of most of them, trying to do a combination of finding things for themselves, finding "we went to New York!" gifts to bring back for their families and starting to find Christmas gifts for everyone. As they walked around, they revelled gleefully in the fact that they were holding hands, in New York! Although they weren't afraid of showing their undeniable affection for each other in Lima, they made an effort to keep it to a minimum in public, mainly in front of people who didn't know them but here, no one cared. Of course they had heard about places like New York being so diverse that being gay wasn't a big deal at all but being here and actually seeing and experiencing it for themselves was something else. Their fingers were tightly intertwined and not a single person paid them a second glance. They even had a few people smile at them and Blaine could have sworn he heard one older woman say to her husband _"Isn't young love a beautiful thing - I wish we were that young again"_ but most people just walked past them, going on with their daily lives. The fact they were two boys meant nothing here because they were in love; that's all it was, all it ever has and all it ever will be between them - pure and simple love.

They made it back to Times Square for around 6ish where they went to dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. The food was amazing and the waiters and waitresses were all amazing singers and everyone clapped, cheered and sung along as they sang and danced on the table tops in their red and black uniforms. Of course, Kurt and Blaine sung the words back to each other of every song that was sung, their cheeks completely aching afterwards from how hard they smiled and giggled throughout. After dinner, they walked the short two minute walk (they needn't hail a taxi although they had both become experts at that now) to the Rockefeller centre. They'd both seen the world famous Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree in pictures and in movies like Elf, Home Alone 2 but seeing the seventy five plus foot tree with their very own two eyes, decorated to perfection and thousands of lights twinkling brightly against the dark night was nothing short of breath taking. They took picture after picture of them outside of it, an adorable mixture of shots of them together, some of one or the other standing in front of the tree and some of them just being silly selfies of the two of them together that for them personally, would carry memories forever. After spending a respectable amount of time admiring the tree, they walked the short distance from the Rockefeller centre to the Bryant Park ice skating rink. Even though it was nearing half ten at night, there was still at least a hundred people on the ice rink and many more people watching over them from the observation decks.

_"The city really does never sleep" _Kurt thought to himself as he and Blaine sat on a little bench outside of the rink, lacing up their skates, smiling brightly at each other when their fingers brushed against the others.

"Ready?" Blaine asked as he stood up, holding out his hand and after an affirmative nod from Kurt, he happily accepted the outstretched hand and the two of them skated out onto the rink.

"Ah! Blaine!" Kurt squealed as he momentarily lost his balance.

"Got you" Blaine reassured as he stood slightly behind Kurt, his hands firmly on his waist. For someone who had nearly fallen flat on their back on the ice, Kurt couldn't seem to stop giggling.

"I haven't ice skated in years - that was bound to happen" Kurt laughed. They skated around the rink a couple of times, reminding themselves of the skills they had both learnt years before but hadn't put into practice in a long time.

"This is so much fun!" Kurt smiled brightly. As Kurt skated ahead for a minute, swinging his arms and gracefully turning his body as he skated, Blaine couldn't help but smile at the person in front of him. This person in front of him right now was a stark contrast to the person he had seen go through some of the toughest things a person could ever live through in the last six months. In that moment, Blaine realised that in the last two days they had been here, this was the happiest he had genuinely seen Kurt in months and he wanted nothing more than for that smile to never disappear from his beautiful, glowing with happiness face.

"Come on slow coach!" Kurt quipped as he turned around, noticing Blaine was still behind him. He held out his hand for Blaine to skate up to and take, skating together around the rink hand in hand and for the remainder of time they had left on the ice, that was exactly what they proceeded to do.

* * *

><p>After such an eventful Friday and not getting back to the hotel until well after midnight, the boys opted for a good old fashioned Saturday lie in. As Kurt started to gradually wake, his eyes slowly accustoming to the warm sunlight that gently streamed through the floor length window, the sheer curtain dancing softly against it in the wind, he slowly became more aware of his surroundings. His bare skin was pressed against Blaine's, his head firmly nestled on Blaine's bare chest and his arm draped over his waist as his boyfriend slept peacefully above him. Kurt thought to himself that there really was no other way he would rather wake up.<p>

Once Blaine woke up, the two of them took a shower before settling down to eat a room service breakfast of freshly brewed coffee and vanilla pancakes, decorated with diced strawberries, generous pots of maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar, whilst lounging on the bed in their bathrobes.

"You realise we are literally a scene out of a rom com film right now" Kurt commented as he took a sip from his coffee. The two of them laughed at how cliché the moment actually was but they really couldn't find in them to care too much because above all else, to them, everything felt completely perfect. Feeling that they had had such an eventful day yesterday, they decided to spend the remainder of their day strolling leisurely through Central Park before the show that evening. The December air was crisp and yet still despite the cold weather, Central Park was bustling with people from all walks of life. They saw men and women, dressed to the nines in their corporate suits, looking extremely focused as they tapped away on their iPhones. They saw parents out with their children, feeding the ducks or simply just playing around, the sound of children's laughter filling the air as they enjoyed the quality time. They saw couples, just like them, strolling around leisurely hand in hand whilst talking animatedly and stealing loving glances at each other. After walking around for quite some times, they decided to sit on the greenery just off of the footed path, the New York City landscapes behind and around them towering over the naked trees that surrounded them.

"It's so strange" Kurt commented as he settled in between Blaine's legs, his head resting comfortably on Blaine's chest and Blaine's arms wrapped snuggly around his waist.

"What is strange?" Blaine asked softly, his voice right next to Kurt's ear as he settled his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"Like, think of how many films or TV shows you've seen where the characters have been in New York, in Central Park and now it's like we're actually here. I'm here. With you" Kurt added as he turned in Blaine's arms, toying with Blaine's scarf as he smiled softly up at him. They weren't too sure who closed the distance between them but as their lips brushed against each others, they didn't really care. It was only when they heard an exclamation of "Mummy look" from an unfamiliar, very young voice did they pull away, seeking out the source. They were taken aback to find a young girl wearing a maroon pea coat and a black beanie hat with an owl face knitted into it, two bobbles on top of it embodying the ears covering the top of her slightly curled, long blonde hair. They thought she couldn't have been more than five or six years old but what surprised them most of all is that they found no disgust or questioning look on her face. There was no follow up question like "why are two boys kissing" or even a juvenile comment such as "gross", she just looked at the two of them with nothing but pure joyfulness.

"They're cute. I want a prince mummy, just like from my stories" the girl smiled.

"Maybe in ten years honey" her mum replied in a tone that said she'd answered this question a hundred times. "I'm sorry - she does this to a lot of couples. Can't take her anywhere!" The mum stage whispered as she leant over to Kurt and Blaine, still keeping a firm grasp on her daughters hand.

"It's fine" Kurt laughed softly. "She's adorable" he commented.

"Yeah she's adorable now but try getting her to go to bed - that's when the little monster comes out" the mum laughed. "Anyway, we won't disturb you anymore. Have a lovely day boys" the mum smiled.

"You too" Blaine smiled back.

"BYE!" the little girl grinned brightly at them, waving her hand enthusiastically as she walked away. The two of them waved and smiled back and as the mum and daughter walked far enough into the distance, Kurt turned in Blaine's arms, hiding his face in Blaine's chest as he laughed and laughed. Blaine couldn't help but laugh along with him, pausing to kiss the top of Kurt's head.

"Did you hear that though - we're cute" Kurt smiled as he pulled away and looked up at his boyfriend.

"Of course we are" Blaine replied. "And in answer to your previous statement, there's no one else I'd rather be here with than you."

* * *

><p>Ahead of their visit, Burt, Carole, Isabelle and Nathan had all organised between them for the boys to dine at one of New York's finest restaurants, 'Carluccio's' before they set off to the show. When they looked up the place on the internet, seeing it was an fairly classy restaurant and knowing that afterwards they would be heading straight to the theatre, they made sure they dressed for the occasion, although who was Kurt to ever turn down an opportunity to dress to impress. Seeing as tonight was one of the first real dates they had been able to have in such a long time, they decided to go all out, starting off by getting ready in separate rooms so that each of them would be floored by the other. Kurt was in the bathroom as Blaine stood in front of their floor length bedroom mirror putting the finishing touches on his hair, making sure his curls were cute and controlled. He had decided to wear a crisp white shirt to go underneath a black cardigan with grey trimmings along the sleeves, pockets and at the bottom of the garment, grey buttons lined down the middle. Blaine paired the ensemble with a thin black tie and light grey chequered trousers. Just as he decided he was satisfied with appearance, smiling and nodding to himself in the mirror, the sound of the bathroom unlocking echoed around the room and Blaine watched as the door knob twisted as the person behind it opened the door.<p>

"Whoa" Blaine exclaimed as Kurt stepped out of the bathroom. He was wearing fitted black trousers that tapered perfectly down his legs, a dotted navy blue shirt whose detail was much more greatly appreciated up close, paired with a grey scarf wrapped around him. As always and despite the slight thinning of it due to his chemoradiotherapy sessions, Kurt's hair was styled to perfection.

"Funny" Kurt smirked as he leant against the doorway flirtatiously. "I was just about to say the same thing about you" he smiled seductively in a way that was almost _killing _Blaine. "Seriously though, do I look okay?" he asked as he dropped the flirtatiousness, looking down at his outfit almost self-consciously as he walked over to Blaine.

"Okay isn't even the word" Blaine replied instantly as Kurt looked up at him, reaching for Blaine's hand. "You look beautiful." There was so much earnestness in Blaine's eyes that Kurt almost felt dizzy it was so overwhelming.

"You do too" Kurt whispered, their hands entwined between them and never once breaking eye contact with Blaine. Kurt couldn't help but think not only how sickeningly perfect the moment was between them but how sickeningly perfect his boyfriend was. This man in front of him that loves him, that never hesitates to tell him he is beautiful and looks into his eyes as if the sun rises and sets in them, and Kurt got to call him _his_.

"I love you so much" Kurt couldn't help but whisper into the silence. The feeling within him was so overwhelming that he just couldn't keep the words in.

"I love you" Blaine whispered just as softly in return, like any loud noise or utterance would shatter the beauty of the moment. Kurt cupped Blaine's cheek with one of his hands, his thumb gently stroking along Blaine's cheekbone before leaning inwards, closing the distance between them, their lips fitting together like a jigsaw, fitting together and parting in slow, lazy kisses.

"As much as I could do that all night-" Kurt whispers in the small distance between them, his kiss swollen lips brushing against Blaine's and their foreheads pressed against each others "- we have a dinner and a show to go to." Kurt laughed as Blaine groaned.

"You're a tease Kurt Hummel."

"But you love me" Kurt countered.

"That I do" Blaine nodded softly against Kurt's forehead before pulling away and straightening himself up, holding out his arm for Kurt to take. "Shall we?"

"We shall" Kurt answered in the classiest tone he could muster, the two of them giggling as they walked out of the room.

* * *

><p>There was no denying that Carluccio's was a beautiful restaurant. The navy walls were softly illuminated by the warm white lights that hung from strands of different lengths from the ceiling, from the Moroccan style wall lamps and the little lamps provided on every table. Each table was decorated to perfection, crisp white table cloths covering each table with the cutlery all neatly aligned, glistening wine glasses provided and napkin swans adding a personal touch. A pianist provided live music entertainment by playing soft medleys in the background over the soft, indistinct chatter of the diners. Kurt and Blaine were shown to their reserved seats by a friendly young man called Joe who had them seated at a medium sized table, perfect for two people. Joe explained all of the specials available for that night and took their drink orders and just as he was about to leave, he took out an envelope from his apron pocket and handed it to Blaine.<p>

"We got told to give this to you both when you arrived" he smiled and winked before walking off, leaving Kurt and Blaine totally confused, as if he knew something that they didn't. Blaine cautiously opened the envelope, confused as to what could be inside and Kurt, on the other side of the table, just as intrigued to see what it could be. Their confusion peaked when all that was inside was a single slip of folder paper.

_Everything is taken care of - dinner's on us! Enjoy your night! Love from Isabelle, Nathan, Burt and Carole xx _

"Oh my god" Kurt exclaimed as Blaine showed him the slip of paper, his own eyes wide in disbelief. "Just when I keep thinking they can't possibly trump themselves, they somehow manage to!"

Shortly afterwards, Joe brought over their drinks and after careful consideration over the menu, Blaine ordered the 'Fritto Misto' and Kurt opted for the 'Milanese Di Pollo'.

"You guys have great taste" Joe complimented as he scribbled away on his notepad. "I'll get that right into the kitchen for you and if you need anything, just give me a shout" he said before leaving the two of them alone once more.

"So, although this isn't a vintage wine or glass of champagne - " Kurt started as he lifted up his glass of Pepsi, " - I want to make a toast. To us" he smiled. "And to you. Thank you not just for a completely, amazing few days but for everything you've done for me over the last six months and for an amazing two years of just _us_. It's like, no matter what comes our way, as long as we're together, we always come out stronger in the end and call me cheesy, but I couldn't imagine my life being more perfect then it is with you - well, you know, besides the obvious 'C' shaped cloud hanging over us. But thank you" Blaine was having trouble regaining his breath as Kurt finished his toast, his chest so tight he felt like he could literally combust at any second with how in _love_ he was with this man.

"I - no toast I even _try _to make is even going to compare to yours" Blaine eventually breathed out.

"You don't have to" Kurt said as he shook his head incredulously. "I just wanted you to know all of that" he smiled softly, his features beautifully illuminated in the warm lighting.

"Well, then, to us" Blaine smiled as he tilted his glass, clinking their glasses together. "I love you and thank _you _for an amazing few days. They've just - this has been so perfect. I kind of don't want to go home" he confessed.

I know the feeling" Kurt smiled back. "So -" Kurt began as he clapped his hands together, " - are you excited for the show?"

The rest of their dinner date was spent just like that; basking in each other and each others company, conversation flowing as easily and naturally as ever between them whilst enjoying the most delicious dinner. They made a mental note to definitely come back to Carluccio's the next time they were in New York. Despite the bill already being settled, they made sure not to leave without giving Joe a generous tip.

"Thanks guys! You guys have a great night okay!" he smiled brightly before walking over to serve another table as Kurt and Blaine wrapped themselves in their coats and scarves, ready to brace the outside weather.

* * *

><p>"That was so amazing!" Kurt exclaimed happily as he and Blaine walked down the streets of New York, hand in hand. They decided to take a leisurely stroll back to their hotel, in no rush to get back as they admired the city at night and cherished their final moments in the city that never sleeps. The show had ended just under half an hour ago and they were both still reeling with just how incredible it was, the chorus of 'Everybody Say Yeah' having being stuck in their head since the end of the first act and not being too bothered by that. "That was - oh my god I just seriously cannot get over how good it was!"<p>

"I know!" Blaine enthusiastically agreed. "And Billy Porter was just so convincing when he was on stage as Lola - like his acting was just incredible. No wonder he won the Tony!"

"Yeah - so totally deserved!" Kurt agreed. "Oh look! They're putting up their tree!" Kurt said as he tugged on Blaine's hands, talking quietly as if he was afraid that by talking too loudly would be intrusive and pointing in the direction of the window of an apartment they were walking past, bright smiles plastered all over the faces of the family as they shared the Christmas tradition of decorating the tree.

"These last few days really have been _so _perfect" Kurt sighed happily as they resumed walking, leaning his cheek on Blaine's arm as they walked.

"They really have. I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to start the Christmas period than spending a little bit of Christmas in the city of our dreams" Blaine replied.

"Me either" Kurt smiled. "I know we've talked hypothetically about living here but, now that we're here, what do you really think? Because I -"

"I can see us living here just as clearly as I can see the sun and moon in the sky" Blaine replied instantly. "It's like, being here has really made me see what our lives could truly be like. I can see you running out the door to work in a rush but you won't leave before you've at least kissed me on the cheek. I can see you mastering the art of the subway at eight in the morning. I can see me walking down the bustling streets, coming home from my job and not even being phased or frustrated by how many people are on the streets because I love the atmosphere so much. And for the weekends, I can see us going shopping or walking through Central Park or going to every other Broadway show until we've seen them all. I can see everything."

Kurt knew that he must have slightly resembled a slapped fish in that moment but he couldn't close his mouth. It wasn't even that he was shocked at how much thought Blaine had put into what their future lives could be like; it was that he could see it too. As clear as daylight, he could see every single one of those scenarios being aspects of their life. At a loss for words, Kurt replied in the best way he thought possible and as his lips pressed against Blaine's, he hoped that everything he felt in that moment, Blaine could feel in his kiss.

"I want all of that too. More than you know" Kurt whispered against Blaine's lips. "Should we promise it then?" he asked as he pulled away, holding out his pinkie finger for Blaine. "Promise that when we're ready, emotionally, financially, no matter how long it takes us, we'll find our way back here."

"Sealed with a kiss?" Blaine winked and although Kurt laughed as how much of a dork his boyfriend was, he didn't hesitate in moving forward, their lips connecting once more.

"We could live in one of those apartments with a doorman" Blaine said excitedly as he pulled away and they started to walk again, their arms linked closely together.

"Maybe one of those apartment blocks with a revolving door like in 'Elf'!" Kurt joined in, equally as excited.

"We could get an apartment with 3 floors!"

"Whatever we get, it has to have a balcony!"

"We should get one on the highest floor so we can look out onto the city!"

"Oh my god yes!"

"We should get a dog too!"

"Blaine" Kurt deadpanned, his voice instantly switching from excitement he felt seconds before.

"But _Kurt_" Blaine whined, pouting his lips in a way he knew Kurt could never resist. "Dogs are so cute though."

"Cats are easier to keep though" Kurt reasoned.

"You know you would love a happy little dog running around the place" Blaine nudged Kurt's shoulder. "Dogs make everything that little bit brighter and happier."

"I don't need a dog for that -" Kurt said as he turned to look at Blaine, "I have you." They smiled softly at each other. "And besides, as amazing as that all sounds, I actually really don't care if we ended up in the biggest penthouse apartment overlooking the Manhattan skyline or in a tiny shoebox apartment where the floorboards creak and its damned with a temperamental heating system, as long as I'm with you and we're together, that will always be more than enough for me."

* * *

><p>It had already been just under week since Kurt and Blaine had returned home from their New York adventure and although they were still suffering from a severe case of the travel blues, they settled back into their lives quickly. But now that they had had a piece of New York, all they wanted and craved since they had been back was the whole cake. Those three days had given them a taste as to what their lives could truly be like in the future and all they wanted was for that dream to start right now. However long before any of that was even a possibility of happening, they still had Kurt's impending results hanging over them. With Christmas being just over three weeks away, the last thing any of them wanted was bad news. Bad news was certainly something they didn't want to see the New Year in with.<p>

It was the Sunday night, a week after his and Kurt's return when Blaine decided he was ready in every possible way.

The five of them had all just had dinner together and because Carole had to rush off to her night shift, the four men cleared the table and washed the dishes between them when suddenly the doorbell rang. Finn, Blaine and Burt peered their heads around the corner when all they could hear from the direction of the front door was incessant squealing.

"I just got back like a couple of hours ago and as soon as I caught up with my dad's, I _had_ to come see you and Finn!" they heard Rachel squeal. The two of them eventually made it past the front door and walked into the kitchen, making cups of tea and stockpiling a whole packet of biscuits before making a swift exit to Kurt's room, the two of them proclaiming they had "so much to catch up on!" The three remaining men smiled between them as they heard the two best friends share excited chatter until it became inaudible; it was a comfort to know Kurt had such great friends at times like these. With the dishes washed and put away, Finn also excused himself to go upstairs as Rachel insisted he and Blaine join their respective others as soon as they were finished so that they could all catch up together.

_"This was the perfect opportunity" _Blaine thought.

"You coming man?" Finn asked, him and Blaine the only two in the kitchen as Burt was already sitting in the living room, flicking aimlessly through the television.

"I'll be there in a minute" he nodded before Finn nodded back at him and thundered up the stairs.

_Just go. Ask him. It'll be fine. _

Blaine took a deep breath to compose himself before he walked into the living room with his head held high.

"Hey kiddo. You not joining the reunion party upstairs?" Burt chuckled.

"I will" Blaine smiled as he sat next to Burt on the two seater sofa. "I was hoping, if you have some time to spare, I could talk to you about something first?"

"It's a Sunday night - of course I've got time to spare" Burt laughed. "And besides, for you, it wouldn't matter what time it is or what I was doing, I always have time to talk to you - anytime." Blaine couldn't help but think how not only did Kurt luck out in having such an amazing person for a father, but he himself lucked out in having Burt take on the role of a father figure for him too. Burt switched off the TV, turning his full attention to Blaine. "What's on your mind kiddo?"

"It's nothing bad" Blaine rushed out. "And erm, before you say no or completely shoot me down, I really, really need you to know that this isn't some impulsive decision or something I've taken lightly. I've - well, I've been thinking about this for a long time and even more so recently."

"Okay?" Burt said, confusion laced in his voice. "What's going on bud?"

"Okay" Blaine breathed out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding in. _God he really was so nervous!_ "I'm just going to come right out and say it and well, Burt, I would like to ask for your permission to ask Kurt to marry me."

A silence fell upon the two men and as if that wasn't the longest 5 seconds of Blaine's life. "Oh" Burt eventually said. Blaine couldn't gauge if his initial reaction was good or bad but any confusion he had was completely gone within the next few seconds as Burt started smiling and _laughing _at him. "Is that it kid?!" Burt chuckled as he clapped his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "You kind of scared me for a minute then!"

"What do you mean 'is that it' - you're not - I mean, you're not going to say we're too young or, or anything?" Blaine was floored. Of course he hoped to come out of this conversation with the answer he wanted more than anything from Burt but he hadn't expected this level of calmness from the man.

"Look, Blaine - "Burt softly began, " - If we're going to play the age card then yeah, you guys are young but as far as I'm concerned, your relationship and the maturity that you and Kurt show is light years beyond your ages. You know, in my opinion, some of the key points to a marriage is having a strong relationship, good communication and being a support system for your partner, and anyone can see that you guys have that. And I think, as awful as these last few months have been, it's been a testament to your relationship too because, well, things have been tough. You know, sometimes when things are tough, people don't always handle the situation well - you could have run away, deciding it was too much - "Blaine softly shook his head at the thought. There was no way he ever could have abandoned the love of his life when he needed him the most. " - and Kurt could have pushed you away- anything could have happened but it's like if anything, throughout this whole adversity, it's only made you both stronger and not just a stronger relationship and support system for each other but stronger as individuals. But look Blaine, I've had nearly nineteen years to get to know my son; I can read him inside out like a novel I've read a thousand times. I know, with all of my heart, that you are the one for him. He's at his peak when he's around you. His smile is wider, his eyes shine brighter - he is the happiest I've ever seen him when you're around and that is all I've ever wanted for him but more than anything, I couldn't be happier or prouder that he found all of that with such an upstanding man like you. So, to put it into layman's terms, you _absolutely _have my permission. Heck, you've had it for quite some time if I'm honest" Burt confessed. He knew that first night in the hospital when Kurt was diagnosed that he would marry Blaine. He knew the day Blaine made the decision to put his education on hold to stay by Kurt's side. He knew when Blaine organised a whole fundraiser event not only to help with medical funds, but simply to make Kurt smile. He knew that day when he and Blaine went fishing and they talked about becoming in laws one day because to Burt, it wasn't a possibility, it was an inevitability. This day had been coming for a long time and Burt knew that.

"I know you will but just promise me one thing?" Burt asked

"Of course" Blaine complied. "Anything."

"Promise me that you'll love my son every single day. Promise me that you will support him and love and cherish him and tell him every day how much you love him. Life is too short to not let the people you know how much you love them."

"Burt, I can say quite easily that that is the _easiest _promise I'll ever have to keep" Blaine said softly, his left hand unconsciously curled over his heart. "I have no intention of ever stopping loving your son. He's the love of my life" Blaine simply replied. Burt smiled, so proud of the man sitting in front of him.

"Well kiddo, I for one cannot wait for you to become my son in law. If I may say so, I think my son has made an excellent choice."

"Well, he hasn't said 'yes' yet Burt" Blaine laughed coyly, blushing slightly as he bowed his head.

Burt scoffed lightly at Blaine. In his head, all Burt could see was Kurt's smile whenever he was with Blaine, how utterly content and peaceful he looks whenever the two of them snuggle on the couch. Burt thought about the way Kurt had looked at Blaine during the fundraiser, the tears of pure love and happiness he had shed that night as Blaine spoke and performed just for him, complete love and adoration written all over his face. Burt thought about how Kurt had let Blaine into things outside of the family, nobody would ever know. He thought about how Kurt had taken Blaine to Elizabeth's grave just last month, a cherished monument in the Hummel Hudson household that barely anyone outside of the family is privy to. Burt had no doubt in his mind that Blaine was the man his son was going to marry.

"He will" Burt said with absolute surety. "That is something I know for certain."

* * *

><p>Two whole days had passed since Blaine's conversation with Burt and ever since the words 'yes' had passed through Burt's lips, thoughts and ideas about the proposal had refused to leave Blaine's head. One aspect he was certain of is that he would propose to Kurt on Christmas day. It was now Wednesday and although Blaine had already previously arranged to see David now that he was home for the Christmas holidays, now with just over a week until Christmas, Blaine added the very important task of finding the perfect ring for the occasion to their to-do list. That was how Kurt found himself alone in the house that very same afternoon. Blaine had left just over an hour ago and so he decided to busy himself by watching a film. As he laid on his bed, engrossed in the storyline playing out, Kurt couldn't help but think just how <em>content <em>he was with his life right now. It was like for nearly two weeks, he had been able to forget he even has Cancer; he hadn't had any chemoradiotherapy sessions since his last one at the end of November, he hadn't had any bouts of sickness as a result of his treatments, he hadn't had any untimely or scheduled trips to the doctors or to the hospital, although he had been extremely lucky with the thinning of his hair, he had found it had stopped thinning as much as it had during his treatment, he hadn't felt the need to take a single painkiller in nearly two weeks and to make things even better, his favourite holiday was just around the corner, Carole was blossoming beautifully in her pregnancy, all of his friend were now home, he had his family around him and Blaine. Blaine was here.

Yeah, Kurt Hummel was pretty darn happy. Until he answered his phone.

_"Hello Mr Hummel?"_

"Yes" Kurt answered. He recognised the number as soon as it flashed up on his screen.

_"Hello I'm calling on behalf of Doctor Rolstone at the Lima Memorial Hospital. We're just calling to inform you that we have received your test results so would it be possible for you be able to come in tomorrow morning at 10?" _the woman on the other end asked.

Kurt inhaled deeply.

This was it. Tomorrow could be the day he found out if the cancer was gone or if come the New Year, the cycled would start all over again.

_"Mr Hummel?"_

He exhaled.

"I'll be there."

* * *

><p><strong>Sooo? Are we excited for a certain proposal!? Also, if you didn't figure it out, that as the storyline i was talking about in the An above - the one where none of you influenced me to write it because it's always been part of my plan - it's been so hard not to tell you guys when some of you write "can they get married" or stuff along those lines that that storyline has been in my head since before chapter 1 was even a chapter and this story was just scribbled notes on paper! **

**Just a little note, this chapter has quite a few references to my own life- Amy and Jen are two of my flatmates here at Uni, Carluccio's is a restaurant I've found since I moved to Leicester, When i was on holiday in Florida, I watched the Tony's and thats where I first saw Kinky Boots and became obsessed with the song 'Everybody Say Yeah' (Seriously go listen to it), Kurts love of Christmas stems from my own love of Christmas (i'm in such a good mood now that it's December) - i'm sure theres more but it's nearly 4:40am and my brains a bit shoddy right now**

**Reviews**

**RozarieCriss**  
><strong>I'm gonna address both your reviews here honey:)<strong>  
><strong>I'M SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER! I'M EVEN SORRY FOR HOW LONG I MADE YOU WAIT FOR A RESOLUTION!<strong>  
><strong>Awwwh i know this was like 6 months ago but i hope you're okay now and the fact that my story made you happy for a little while, thats honestly such an honour and i'm so glad it done that for you - that is the best compliment I could ever recieve! <strong>  
><strong>Yeahh i cried so hard writing that video tape part too! <strong>  
><strong>Awwh It's always good to hear from you too - i love reading your reviews! But i'm really good thank you and yeah, Uni is great thank youu:) Hope you're okay too!xx<strong>

**nomorecandles**  
><strong>I hope your results were good and what you wantedneeded!:) **  
><strong>Awwh thank you:) Hope you liked this chapter!xx<strong>

**Coldkagome**  
><strong>Ahhh i think Kurts luck is about to change though ;)xx<strong>

**eternityforklaine21**  
><strong>THANK YOU SO MUCH BABE!:) <strong>  
><strong>it's going to have two more chapters - Chapter 18 and an Epilouge :) <strong>  
><strong>I JUST REALISED I NEVER REPLIED TO YOUR PM - Oh my god that was like the day before i moved to uni and i was so busy and i've just realised - I will message you later and catch up!xx<strong>

**Anonymous comment**  
><em><strong>I have cried several times showing.g you just how good a writer you are!<strong>_  
><strong>That honestly means so much to me - like that makes me so happy in the best way possible thank you so much! I'd quite happily write this story forever but unfortunately it's coming to it's natural end :( theres still two more chapters though!xx<strong>

**Mel Reed**  
><strong>Oh my god you are so welcome! Thank you for the amazing review! it's reviews like yours that give me so much motivation to keep going!:)xx<strong>

**Mandymacca**  
><strong>Awwh thanks babe! Hope you enjoyed this chapter:)xx<strong>

**oo Countess D oo**  
><strong>Yeahh i think you're going to be one of the people happy with this chapter then ;) :Dxx<strong>

**So guys, although i still havent finished this story, I thought i might as well tell you all that after this story, I AM planning to write another one! it's a aspect in Klaine fics that I've been interested in for a few months now and im already festering ideas for it and writing random ideas on my phone - i don't want to give away details or anything yet because I'm still not 100% on the in's and out's but one thing that is certain is that it will be a future fic and so Kurt and Blaine will be in their 20's or so so basically, if you're interested in my writing, I will be writing another story and i promise to be more organised with this one! **

**BACK TO THIS STORY THOUGH - my first baby:) Please review and let me know what you thought! This is one chapter i can't wait to hear what you guys thought and will certainly brighten my day when I'm stuck in the library all day revising for my exams next week! **

**Until next time honeybunches!(L)xxx**


	20. Authors Note Regarding Chapter 18

Hey everyone!

So firstly, i am just so, _so_ sorry about how long this update is taking me! i'm gonna be honest and say that it's all still in note form atm - I have no concrete word document of Chapter 18 yet - im sorry:(

Since January, Uni has just been completely insane and literally **non stop** and over the last 3/4 months, I've had to write 10,000 words worth of essays and i know 3/4 months sounds like a long time and maybe that sounds doable but when you're going to uni four days a week and then working at my job all weekend, aswell as doing other bits of reading and work on top of the essays, its really hard to fit everything in. I had a weeks break in February and I couldn't even go home because I had two 2,000 word essays due in (both worth 40% of my final end of year mark), a campaign video to film and a presentation to do and then straight after those two, I had another 3 2,000 word essays to do (both again 40% of my final mark and one of which I'm writing right now which is due in on Thursday 1/5/14) so this is why I haven't been able to focus on finishing 'As Long As We're Together'

I also have an exam in 19 days which realy does not help with my workload or stress levels at all ahaa

I just want to make sure this chapter is _**perfect**_ - not only for me but for you guys too! This is the last chapter of my fic (there'll be an epilogue too) and I've had this ending in my head since i first thought of this story so I want to make sure its completely perfect and not do a half assed job of it in between doing my uni work so that you guys are just as happy with it as I am

So i just wanted to write this to let you guys know whats going on with this - I promise as soon as my essay is handed in and my exam is over, I am all yours and you'll get the last chapter and the epilogue - WHEN exactly I'm not sure but i will have completely finished uni for the year after my exam so I'm all yours after that

I just also wanted to say thank you so much to everyone thats still following this story and still leaving reviews- I had someone leave a review the other night (oo Countess D oo - talking about you :D) and it made me smile so much that this fic is still in people's minds despite me being beyond awful at updating but I hope you understand why i haven't been able to. It's not because I don't care about this fic or I've abandoned it - it's just because I haven't been able to give it the time and attention i really want to but as always, this story will be finished!

Hope you're all okay and again, thank you so much for staying with me and if you can hang on in there for an update, I promise it'll be worth it and you might just get what you've been hoping for!

Lucy xx

(lucy121293 - your 'awful at updating' author who's so appreciative of all of you!)


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